Oil Addiction: The World in Peril - 6
by Pierre Chomat (Universal Publishers, 2004)
translated from the French by Pamela Gilbert-Snyder
Part I. Man's Egosystems
Chapter 6. The Earth's New Cloak
Another great danger associated with the West's thirst for hydrocarbons has to do with the way an ergamine is consumed. Although it dies in labor, which might be considered a noble end, the ergamine does not simply vanish without a trace. Combining with oxygen in the air (O2), its carbon atoms (C) produce molecules of gas (CO2), which escape into the atmosphere. We are all familiar with this gas: it is what makes champagne corks pop! Colorless, odorless, inert, it could almost pass unnoticed were it not for the fact that it is alleged to have committed a serious crime: that of attempting to warm the globe. Nothing less than that! Scientifically, this gas is known as carbon dioxide. In the "criminal indictment" presented below, I will refer to it simply as CO2.
For the time being, however, CO2's crimes are only alleged, and before bringing formal charges against it one should present the evidence in its favor. First, it is worth noting that CO2 is not necessarily harmful to humans. On the contrary, it is even one of the primary natural gases that regulate the Earth's temperature from the sky by acting as a "screen" to hold in some of the Sun's rays, which would otherwise bounce off the globe and return to outer space. The other natural gases in the atmosphere that, along with CO2, significantly contribute to global temperature regulation are: water vapor (H2O), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and ozone (O3). Every molecule of these natural gases found in the air acts as a microscopic heat screen. The more screening molecules there are the more effective they become at holding in heat. This process is called the "greenhouse effect" because these gases act like the glass of a greenhouse, trapping heat from the sun to warm the air inside. Without it, most of the heat we need to survive would be lost in space and the Earth's average temperature would hover at around zero degrees Fahrenheit (-8 degrees Celsius). Currently, our average temperature is 59 degrees Fahrenheit (+15 degrees Celsius). {7}
These greenhouse gases, about which we hear such nasty things, are in reality the Earth's natural thermostats. As heat screens, they sustain life as we know it on a global scale. We owe our very existence to them.
So if we owe our lives to these gases, what exactly do we have against them? Obviously, there would be no problem if they had simply continued the important task that they have been performing for millions of years, but human activity has increased their presence in the atmosphere to the point of making their heat-trapping effect all too powerful. Evidence shows that our planet is no longer able to release enough of the heat it receives from the Sun. In short, our natural thermostat is out-of-whack!
The facts paint a bleak picture for human beings. Millions of tons of extra CO2 are emitted every day through the combustion of the ergamines that sustain our Western way of life. Tons of methane are also released by industrial activities such as coal extraction and processing, factory farming, industrial feedlots, as well as by the decomposition of garbage in landfills. In addition, large quantities of all sorts of nitrogen oxides are produced inside hot engines and discharged into the air along with the exhaust fumes.
In short, since the beginning of the industrial era, when we began pushing our consumption of ergamines to extremes, oil-addicted human beings have been forcing our natural thermostat higher and higher. And the Earth is warming!
Not all greenhouse gases have the same heat-trapping potential. In equal concentrations, methane and nitrous oxide are far more effective at trapping heat than CO2. {a} In addition to the natural gases, many chemicals are released into the air by industry. Most of these chemicals did not exist before, or only in trace amounts. Their global warming potentials are sometimes tens of thousands of times greater than that of CO. {b} However, of all the gases in the atmosphere except water vapor, CO2 has the greatest overall heat trapping power simply because it is present in such high concentrations.
And its concentration in the atmosphere is increasing rapidly - by 31% since the beginning of the industrial era, when it was 280 parts per million by volume. In 1999, its level reached 367 parts per million by volume, the highest in 420,000 years, very likely the highest in twenty million years. {c} In just a little over one century, human beings have managed to destroy the balance that had been maintained on Earth for tens of millions of years. Earth is no longer the great celestial body whose form and dimensions our ancient sapiens ancestors could not even begin to contemplate - if they thought of it in those terms at all. It is now a finite world held tightly in the grip of the oil addicts. And it is time we acknowledge it.
But even more worrisome than CO2's high concentration in the atmosphere is the length of time its molecules remain there: an average of 100 years. {d} In other words, as long as we continue to burn ergamines, CO2 will continue to accumulate around the Earth. We are installing an "electric blanket" around our globe, one that will remain there for a very long time. Even if we stopped producing CO2 today, the Earth would continue to warm for a century. This is beyond worrisome: it is positively alarming!
The amount of CO2 each of us is responsible for emitting increases with the amount of ergamines we consume. For example, an SUV releases 200 pounds of CO2 per hour; a lawn mower, three pounds; a leaf-blower, one pound. A plane flying from San Francisco to Europe emits 2500 pounds of CO2 in the atmosphere per passenger. Each American emits an average of 100 pounds of carbon dioxide per day, with Texans having the highest rate at 200 pounds. Canadians emit 75 pounds each, Russians and Germans 55 pounds each, Japanese and Poles 45 pounds, South Africans 35 pounds, the French 27 pounds, Mexicans eighteen pounds, and the Chinese twelve pounds each. {9}
To complicate matters further, the topic has become highly politicized. We are witnessing a confrontation between groups who are arguing against each other without ever connecting to find a solution.
On one side are the great majority of scientists, who are convinced that greenhouse gas emissions will generate global warming on a scale that will endanger life. But the results of their research never make it out of intellectual circles, which have no decision-making power in society. Thus, scientists are unable to intervene to bring the situation in check. This is particularly true in the United States and in rapidly developing countries such as China and Malaysia. It should also be noted that their research is often ambiguous because the greenhouse effect is so complex and involves counter effects that are difficult to quantify. On the other side is industry, which never wavers from its main objective: to produce more. Thus, for financial reasons, industry continues to consume more energy every day, gradually producing more and more greenhouse gases. It comes as a surprise to no one that the oil industry is calling the tune.
Between these two groups of very unequal power and financial resources are the politicians whom we place on the public stage - or who manipulate the voters to place themselves there. Their goals are also clear: to hold their positions of power for as long as possible. So far, their greatest staying power has come from their connections with industry. And, the truth is, we would not have it any other way. For us, industry means jobs. Industry is our revolution, our paycheck, our pride and joy. It is our way of life. Slowing industry down would mean going back to the horse and buggy.
These are the stakes with regard to CO2. In the West, most leaders, whether in industry or politics, avoid the issue and simply resign themselves to lying about it. In fact, they are "anesthetizing" us! Our society's highest leaders avoid responsibility by saying they are waiting for scientists to provide irrefutable proof that global warming, which has been proven irrefutably, is indeed caused by increased greenhouse gas emissions. Since absolute proof does not exist in science - it is not even possible to prove that the Earth is round beyond dispute - politicians, who continue to ignore the problem, rest safe in the assurance that they will never have to face the jury. They are like physicians refusing to treat a patient until they receive ironclad proof that he has contracted a terminal illness. Only his death would allow them to act in good conscience! It is regrettable that certain governments have adopted such an irresponsible attitude in this regard. And it is no coincidence that these governments are the ones that benefit most from ergamines.
Meanwhile, the Earth continues to warm. We now know that the beautiful snowcaps of Mount Fuji and Kilimanjaro are not eternal; they are melting, almost before our very eyes. The polar icecaps are also shrinking. Polar bears will soon have to find a new habitat.
If it wants to maintain its standing, the scientific community can no longer limit itself to just talk. Research alone will not change the societal trends of oil addicts. Men and women of science will not change the way we live by staying in the laboratory. The men and women of money and politics have much more power than they. American universities are well aware of this. Many depend on state and industry subsidies to conduct their research. By accepting these subsidies, some have difficulty maintaining their independence. They compromise themselves by publishing reports that will not jeopardize the interests of their clients.
The United States government subsidizes many global warming studies and research projects aimed at identifying new sources of energy to replace traditional forms. By launching these studies, it can say it is trying to save the environment. In reality, however, most of these studies are nothing more than smokescreens that allow it to avoid the deeper issues while continuing its policy of unlimited energy consumption. Three major American corporations whose businesses relate to hydrocarbon production, ExxonMobil, General Electric, and Schlumberger Limited, along with Europe's largest privately-owned energy services provider, EON, recently commissioned a study. The aim of this project is to identify and develop new energy systems with low greenhouse gas emissions. It will cost these companies more than two hundred million dollars and take about ten years to complete. As will be seen later in the chapter "Global Black Gold Reserves", by the time the results of this study are made public, global oil production will have peaked, and the world will already have been forced to reduce its consumption. The study may still help these companies reorient their business strategies to reduce pollution, but it will not contribute to curbing the overall increase of global warming.
We are going around in circles, blinded by political whitewash!
Notes
{7} J L Bobin, H Nifenecker, C Stephan, L'energie dans le monde: bilan et perspectives, (Les Ulis, France: Societe Francaise de Physique, EDP Sciences, 2001), 26.
{a} US Environmental Pollution Agency, "Greenhouse Gas and Global Warming Potential Values", Table 2, Report of April 2002.
"Global Warming Potentials (GWPs) are intended as a quantified measure of the globally averaged relative radiative-forcing impacts of a particular greenhouse gas. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has recently updated the specific GWPs for most greenhouse gases. Taking carbon dioxide (CO2) as a reference, over a 100-year time horizon, the relative GPMs are: 1 for CO2, 21 for methane and 310 for nitrous oxide (N2O)."
{b} EPA Report, op cit, Table 2. Over a 100-year time horizon, the relative GPMs are: 11,700 for hydrofluorocarbon (HFC-23) and 24,000 for sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
{c} EPA Report, op cit, pages 5-6.
{d} EPA Report, op cit, Table 2. The atmospheric lifetime of a molecule of CO2 is between fifty and 200 years. It is about twelve years for methane. The lifetime of chemical compounds released by industry can be extremely long, for example 50,000 years for CF4.
{9} Electronic document dated December 2002 at
http://www.epcc.ptef.osaka.jp/apec/eng/earth/globd_wamiing/co2.htm
Bill Totten http://www.ashisuto.co.jp/english/
translated from the French by Pamela Gilbert-Snyder
Part I. Man's Egosystems
Chapter 6. The Earth's New Cloak
Another great danger associated with the West's thirst for hydrocarbons has to do with the way an ergamine is consumed. Although it dies in labor, which might be considered a noble end, the ergamine does not simply vanish without a trace. Combining with oxygen in the air (O2), its carbon atoms (C) produce molecules of gas (CO2), which escape into the atmosphere. We are all familiar with this gas: it is what makes champagne corks pop! Colorless, odorless, inert, it could almost pass unnoticed were it not for the fact that it is alleged to have committed a serious crime: that of attempting to warm the globe. Nothing less than that! Scientifically, this gas is known as carbon dioxide. In the "criminal indictment" presented below, I will refer to it simply as CO2.
For the time being, however, CO2's crimes are only alleged, and before bringing formal charges against it one should present the evidence in its favor. First, it is worth noting that CO2 is not necessarily harmful to humans. On the contrary, it is even one of the primary natural gases that regulate the Earth's temperature from the sky by acting as a "screen" to hold in some of the Sun's rays, which would otherwise bounce off the globe and return to outer space. The other natural gases in the atmosphere that, along with CO2, significantly contribute to global temperature regulation are: water vapor (H2O), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and ozone (O3). Every molecule of these natural gases found in the air acts as a microscopic heat screen. The more screening molecules there are the more effective they become at holding in heat. This process is called the "greenhouse effect" because these gases act like the glass of a greenhouse, trapping heat from the sun to warm the air inside. Without it, most of the heat we need to survive would be lost in space and the Earth's average temperature would hover at around zero degrees Fahrenheit (-8 degrees Celsius). Currently, our average temperature is 59 degrees Fahrenheit (+15 degrees Celsius). {7}
These greenhouse gases, about which we hear such nasty things, are in reality the Earth's natural thermostats. As heat screens, they sustain life as we know it on a global scale. We owe our very existence to them.
So if we owe our lives to these gases, what exactly do we have against them? Obviously, there would be no problem if they had simply continued the important task that they have been performing for millions of years, but human activity has increased their presence in the atmosphere to the point of making their heat-trapping effect all too powerful. Evidence shows that our planet is no longer able to release enough of the heat it receives from the Sun. In short, our natural thermostat is out-of-whack!
The facts paint a bleak picture for human beings. Millions of tons of extra CO2 are emitted every day through the combustion of the ergamines that sustain our Western way of life. Tons of methane are also released by industrial activities such as coal extraction and processing, factory farming, industrial feedlots, as well as by the decomposition of garbage in landfills. In addition, large quantities of all sorts of nitrogen oxides are produced inside hot engines and discharged into the air along with the exhaust fumes.
In short, since the beginning of the industrial era, when we began pushing our consumption of ergamines to extremes, oil-addicted human beings have been forcing our natural thermostat higher and higher. And the Earth is warming!
Not all greenhouse gases have the same heat-trapping potential. In equal concentrations, methane and nitrous oxide are far more effective at trapping heat than CO2. {a} In addition to the natural gases, many chemicals are released into the air by industry. Most of these chemicals did not exist before, or only in trace amounts. Their global warming potentials are sometimes tens of thousands of times greater than that of CO. {b} However, of all the gases in the atmosphere except water vapor, CO2 has the greatest overall heat trapping power simply because it is present in such high concentrations.
And its concentration in the atmosphere is increasing rapidly - by 31% since the beginning of the industrial era, when it was 280 parts per million by volume. In 1999, its level reached 367 parts per million by volume, the highest in 420,000 years, very likely the highest in twenty million years. {c} In just a little over one century, human beings have managed to destroy the balance that had been maintained on Earth for tens of millions of years. Earth is no longer the great celestial body whose form and dimensions our ancient sapiens ancestors could not even begin to contemplate - if they thought of it in those terms at all. It is now a finite world held tightly in the grip of the oil addicts. And it is time we acknowledge it.
But even more worrisome than CO2's high concentration in the atmosphere is the length of time its molecules remain there: an average of 100 years. {d} In other words, as long as we continue to burn ergamines, CO2 will continue to accumulate around the Earth. We are installing an "electric blanket" around our globe, one that will remain there for a very long time. Even if we stopped producing CO2 today, the Earth would continue to warm for a century. This is beyond worrisome: it is positively alarming!
The amount of CO2 each of us is responsible for emitting increases with the amount of ergamines we consume. For example, an SUV releases 200 pounds of CO2 per hour; a lawn mower, three pounds; a leaf-blower, one pound. A plane flying from San Francisco to Europe emits 2500 pounds of CO2 in the atmosphere per passenger. Each American emits an average of 100 pounds of carbon dioxide per day, with Texans having the highest rate at 200 pounds. Canadians emit 75 pounds each, Russians and Germans 55 pounds each, Japanese and Poles 45 pounds, South Africans 35 pounds, the French 27 pounds, Mexicans eighteen pounds, and the Chinese twelve pounds each. {9}
To complicate matters further, the topic has become highly politicized. We are witnessing a confrontation between groups who are arguing against each other without ever connecting to find a solution.
On one side are the great majority of scientists, who are convinced that greenhouse gas emissions will generate global warming on a scale that will endanger life. But the results of their research never make it out of intellectual circles, which have no decision-making power in society. Thus, scientists are unable to intervene to bring the situation in check. This is particularly true in the United States and in rapidly developing countries such as China and Malaysia. It should also be noted that their research is often ambiguous because the greenhouse effect is so complex and involves counter effects that are difficult to quantify. On the other side is industry, which never wavers from its main objective: to produce more. Thus, for financial reasons, industry continues to consume more energy every day, gradually producing more and more greenhouse gases. It comes as a surprise to no one that the oil industry is calling the tune.
Between these two groups of very unequal power and financial resources are the politicians whom we place on the public stage - or who manipulate the voters to place themselves there. Their goals are also clear: to hold their positions of power for as long as possible. So far, their greatest staying power has come from their connections with industry. And, the truth is, we would not have it any other way. For us, industry means jobs. Industry is our revolution, our paycheck, our pride and joy. It is our way of life. Slowing industry down would mean going back to the horse and buggy.
These are the stakes with regard to CO2. In the West, most leaders, whether in industry or politics, avoid the issue and simply resign themselves to lying about it. In fact, they are "anesthetizing" us! Our society's highest leaders avoid responsibility by saying they are waiting for scientists to provide irrefutable proof that global warming, which has been proven irrefutably, is indeed caused by increased greenhouse gas emissions. Since absolute proof does not exist in science - it is not even possible to prove that the Earth is round beyond dispute - politicians, who continue to ignore the problem, rest safe in the assurance that they will never have to face the jury. They are like physicians refusing to treat a patient until they receive ironclad proof that he has contracted a terminal illness. Only his death would allow them to act in good conscience! It is regrettable that certain governments have adopted such an irresponsible attitude in this regard. And it is no coincidence that these governments are the ones that benefit most from ergamines.
Meanwhile, the Earth continues to warm. We now know that the beautiful snowcaps of Mount Fuji and Kilimanjaro are not eternal; they are melting, almost before our very eyes. The polar icecaps are also shrinking. Polar bears will soon have to find a new habitat.
If it wants to maintain its standing, the scientific community can no longer limit itself to just talk. Research alone will not change the societal trends of oil addicts. Men and women of science will not change the way we live by staying in the laboratory. The men and women of money and politics have much more power than they. American universities are well aware of this. Many depend on state and industry subsidies to conduct their research. By accepting these subsidies, some have difficulty maintaining their independence. They compromise themselves by publishing reports that will not jeopardize the interests of their clients.
The United States government subsidizes many global warming studies and research projects aimed at identifying new sources of energy to replace traditional forms. By launching these studies, it can say it is trying to save the environment. In reality, however, most of these studies are nothing more than smokescreens that allow it to avoid the deeper issues while continuing its policy of unlimited energy consumption. Three major American corporations whose businesses relate to hydrocarbon production, ExxonMobil, General Electric, and Schlumberger Limited, along with Europe's largest privately-owned energy services provider, EON, recently commissioned a study. The aim of this project is to identify and develop new energy systems with low greenhouse gas emissions. It will cost these companies more than two hundred million dollars and take about ten years to complete. As will be seen later in the chapter "Global Black Gold Reserves", by the time the results of this study are made public, global oil production will have peaked, and the world will already have been forced to reduce its consumption. The study may still help these companies reorient their business strategies to reduce pollution, but it will not contribute to curbing the overall increase of global warming.
We are going around in circles, blinded by political whitewash!
Notes
{7} J L Bobin, H Nifenecker, C Stephan, L'energie dans le monde: bilan et perspectives, (Les Ulis, France: Societe Francaise de Physique, EDP Sciences, 2001), 26.
{a} US Environmental Pollution Agency, "Greenhouse Gas and Global Warming Potential Values", Table 2, Report of April 2002.
"Global Warming Potentials (GWPs) are intended as a quantified measure of the globally averaged relative radiative-forcing impacts of a particular greenhouse gas. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has recently updated the specific GWPs for most greenhouse gases. Taking carbon dioxide (CO2) as a reference, over a 100-year time horizon, the relative GPMs are: 1 for CO2, 21 for methane and 310 for nitrous oxide (N2O)."
{b} EPA Report, op cit, Table 2. Over a 100-year time horizon, the relative GPMs are: 11,700 for hydrofluorocarbon (HFC-23) and 24,000 for sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
{c} EPA Report, op cit, pages 5-6.
{d} EPA Report, op cit, Table 2. The atmospheric lifetime of a molecule of CO2 is between fifty and 200 years. It is about twelve years for methane. The lifetime of chemical compounds released by industry can be extremely long, for example 50,000 years for CF4.
{9} Electronic document dated December 2002 at
http://www.epcc.ptef.osaka.jp/apec/eng/earth/globd_wamiing/co2.htm
Bill Totten http://www.ashisuto.co.jp/english/
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