Natural Environment Blog

As environmentalists push for “green” energy, the coal industry continues to emphasize the fact that coal is cheaper than its greener alternatives. 

But is coal really as cheap as we think it is?

Greenpeace has released a report that reveals the true cost that coal is having on the world at large.

Entitled The True Cost Of Coal: How people and the planet are paying the price for the world’s dirtiest fuel, the report shows that coal is costing the world around €360 billion per year.

Over the next ten years this would translate into €3.6 trillion - roughly $US4.6 trillion. 

The Hidden Costs

In calculating the figure, Greenpeace looked at the external costs of coal, such as costs arising from mining accidents, acid rain, and more.

The report says:

Traditionally considered the cheapest fuel around, the market price for coal ignores its most significant impacts. These so-called “external costs” manifests themselves as damages such as respiratory diseases, mining accidents, acid rain, smog pollution, reduced agricultural yields and climate change.

Greenpeace explains that the the harm caused by mining and burning coal is not reflected in its price per tonne or its costs for a kWh of electricity, but the world at large is nevertheless paying for it.

Coal’s Impact On Climate Change

The report also explains that coal burning contributes more to climate change than any other fossil fuel, and that coal-fired power stations produce 11 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. 

Greenpeace emphasizes that our decisions regarding coal is not something we should take lightly:

As the single largest source of CO2 emissions, the manner in which we deal with coal in the coming years will determine whether we can respond adequately to the climate crisis.

And, our decisions of today, will have an ongoing impact for years to come:

A coal plant built today will emit CO2 pollution for at least the next 40 years.

Dirty Coal vs Clean Coal?

And Greenpeace is not impressed by so called “clean coal”, where carbon from the burning coal is captured and stored underground.

Greenpeace says that, even if it were a feasible option, there isn’t enough time to deploy Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) plants.

The earliest possibility for deployment of CCS at a useful scale is not expected until at least 2030, while global greenhouse gas emissions must start falling after 2015 to avoid the worst impacts of climate change 

Greenpeace believes that CCS is providing an unwelcome distraction in the discussion on reducing greenhouse gas emissions:

Those peddling technological fixes – such as carbon capture and storage which claims to make coal clean and safe for the climate – create a dangerous distraction as the world seeks truly sustainable solutions that will reduce emissions and protect our climate. It is only by quitting coal and increasing energy efficiency and production of renewable energy that we will prevent catastrophic climate change. 

Coal Must Be Phased Out

The strong message in the report is that coal must be phased out, and proposed coal-fired power stations must not go ahead.

Instead, Greenpeace emphasizes that renewable energy and energy efficiency must be the way forward:

Given the availability of alternatives such as renewable energy and energy efficiency, which can meet our energy needs in a safe and climate-friendly way, there is no need to continue relying on coal. We must reduce our dependence on this dirty fuel and abandon plans to build new coal-fired power stations. 

So, given the true cost of coal, the report makes the argument for renewable energy even more compelling.

Full Report [PDF document]

A new agency will be formed in early 2009 to act as a driver for renewable energy on an international level.

Although there are other international energy agencies, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), which was initially driven by Germany, Spain and Denmark, will be the first worldwide agency dedicated to renewable energy.

IRENA says,

There is an urgent need for renewable energy to play a stronger part in international political processes – whether they deal with trade, investment, environment, energy or other issues. Its aim will be to generate momentum for renewable energy on an international level.

Large-Scale Adoption of Renewable Energy

IRENA’s objective is to foster and promote the large-scale adoption of renewable energy worldwide. 

The agency plans to break the objective down into the following tangable targets:

• Improved regulatory frameworks for renewable energy through enhanced policy advice 
• Improvements in the transfer of renewable energy technology 
• Progress and improvements on renewable energy skills and know-how; a scientifically sound information basis through applied policy research 
• Better financing of renewable energy

Greenpeace has published the second edition of their Energy [R]evolution report, which has been updated with the latest economic, technical and population data. 

The report provides a blueprint that the world can use to cut emissions, phase out nuclear power, save money and maintain global economic development - all without fuelling catastrophic climate change.

The report shows how the planet can get from where we are now, to where we need to be.

Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Currently, developed countries use much more energy per capita than developing countries. 

The report explains that by 2020 developed countries such as USA, Europe and Australia are projected to use two to  three times more energy per capita than China or India. And because of this, those developed countries need to reduce their carbon emissions much earlier than developing countries. 

Greenpeace say,

In the global fight against catastrophic climate change, global greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector must have peaked by 2015 and have returned to current levels by 2020.

The report says that industrialized economies such as the USA, the European Community and Australia, have to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30% below 1990 levels.

It also says that developing countries need to stabilize their carbon emissions by 2020, then start reducing emissions. 

3 Step Approach

The blueprint provides a 3 step approach:

Step 1: Electrical efficiency

• Exploit all technical potential for electrical efficiency via technical standards

Step 2: Structural changes

• Change the way we produce energy in large centralised power stations towards a decentralised energy system, using large-scale renewable resources that use locally available energy sources such as wind, sun or geothermal.
• Cogeneration – end the huge amounts of waste energy via cooling towers

Step 3: Energy-efficient transport

• Build up efficient public transport systems

Implement efficient cars, trucks, etc.

5 key Principles

Greenpeace say that the report is based on proven technologies the following key principles:

1. Equity and fairness
2. Respect natural limits
3. Phase out dirty, unsustainable energy
4. Implement renewable solutions and decentralise energy systems
5. Decouple growth from fossil fuel use

Greenpeace’s Message to the World Governments

In the report, Greenpeace makes a plea to governments around the world to:

1. Phase out all subsidies for fossil fuels and nuclear energy
2. Internalise the external (social and environmental) costs of energy production through “cap and trade” emissions trading
3. Mandate strict efficiency standards for all energy-consuming appliances, buildings and vehicles
4. Establish legally binding targets for renewable energy and combined heat and power generation
5. Reform the electricity markets by guaranteeing priority access to the grid for renewable power generators
6. Provide defined and stable returns for investors, for example by feed-in tariff programmes
7. Increase research and development budgets for renewable energy and energy efficiency

The Report

The Energy [R]evolution was developed in conjunction with specialists from the Institute of Technical Thermodynamics at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and more than 30 scientists and engineers from universities, institutes and the renewable energy industry around the world.

View a Summary (PDF, 16 pages) | View the  Full report (PDF, 212 pages.

The Earth radiation budget represents the balance between incoming energy from the sun and outgoing (reflected) energy from the Earth.

The term ‘budget’ can be likened to an individual’s budget or company budget - income versus expenses.

The earth radiation budget is determined by calculating all of the incoming sunlight minus all of the reflected sunlight and emitted heat.

If the radiation budget is in balance, Earth’s temperature will remain constant. If the budget is out of balance, the earth will either heat up or cool down.

Currently, the global radiation budget is in balance. This means that the amount of energy coming in is the same that is leaving. Having said this, different parts of Earth are completely out of balance. But as a whole, the earth’s radiation budget is in balance.

Many things can (and do) happen to sunlight on its way to Earth. It can be reflected back into space before or even after it reaches Earth. It can also be absorbed into many of the Earth’s surfaces.

There are 3 ways that the Earth radiation budget can tip out of balance:

• the amount of incoming solar radiation changes
• the amount of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere changes
• the amount of Earth’s reflective features changes (clouds, ice, aerosols etc). Bright white surfaces reflect more sunlight than they absorb. The opposite is true for darker objects.

Since 1978, NASA scientists have been studying the earth’s radiation budget closely. When they launched the Nimbus-7 satellite, it carried a new instrument they called the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). ERBE was designed to measure all the energy through the top of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Since then, NASA has launched many more projects and satellites in order to study this area.

Based on analysis provided by the Australian Greenhouse Office, there are five household activities that stand above the others when it comes to production greenhouse gases.

Five of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters in the average household are:

• Travel (to work, shopping, recreation etc)
• Water heating
• General electrical devices
• Heating/cooling
• Lighting

Here, I’m going to discuss some of the easiest things we can do to lower the greenhouse gas emissions from our households. To get the biggest “bang for our buck”, we should first target those activities that produce the most greenhouse gas (such as the 5 listed above).

You might find many of my suggestions blatantly obvious. That’s OK. But remember that despite how obvious some these are, billions of people around the world choose not to change - they’re too used to their way of life.

If we really want to reduce our carbon footprint, we need to break some of the habits that have been ingrained in us for so long. Fortunately this is easier than it sounds. All we need to do is make a decision - do we want to make a difference or not? Once that decision has been made, the rest will come naturally.

Anyway, here are the big 5.

Travel

Some estimates have found that 34% of household greenhouse gas emissions comes from travel. Furthermore, a large part of these greenhouse gases come from cars.

By using our cars less, we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint. Try walking or cycling instead. As well as environmental benefits, there are also health benefits from doing this. Next time you do your grocery shopping, throw on a backpack and cycle to the supermarket. Throw all your groceries into your backpack and cycle home. You’ll feel much better for it!

Water Heating

Water heating is a high producer of greenhouse gas. This highlights the need to really be mindful of how much hot water we use. Maybe we should ask ourselves some questions like:

• “Do I really need to spend 15 minutes under a hot shower every day?”
• “Do I really need to use hot water when washing my clothes?”
• “Do I really need to fill the sink up to the brim each time I wash the dishes?”

Electrical Devices

Electrical devices are high greenhouse gas producers too. Devices such as TVs, stereos, computers, printers, scanners etc all produce loads of greenhouse gas.

The sad thing about this is that, up to 13% of household greenhouse gas is produced while our electrical appliances are turned off. When turned off, these devices still consume electricity and produce greenhouse gas.

As well asking ourselves “Do I really need this device…”, we should also remember to pull the plug out at the wall when finished with these devices.

Another thing to do is, when purchasing electrical appliances, try to look for the most energy efficient appliances. Depending on where you live, your government might require all electrical appliances to be rated for their energy efficiency. This type of system will make it easier for you.

Heating/cooling

Again, an obvious question to ask is “Do I really need the heater on all the time”. Or if you live in a warmer climate “Do I really need the air conditioner on all the time?” .

In cooler climates, try keeping your body warm - not the room. What I mean by this is, instead of putting the heater/radiator on, wear warm clothing instead (or just move around a lot more!). And if you’re sitting on the couch at home and you’re getting cold, wrap a bed sheet around you, or place it over your legs. You’ll be amazed how soon you warm up.

In warmer climates, opening windows and letting air through can often cool you down significantly. A cold shower or swim is always refreshing too!

Lights

We should get into the habit of turning lights off when we don’t need them. Or even better, don’t turn them on if we don’t need to.

We could also make sure we buy energy efficient light bulbs. They use far less energy than traditional light bulbs and produce much less greenhouse gas. Although, if you do buy energy efficient light bulbs, just make sure you dispose of them properly.

Have you ever wondered how much greenhouse gas you were producing every time you threw your laundry into the washing machine?

Same thing with the clothes dryer. Have you ever wondered how much your clothes dryer was contributing towards your carbon footprint?

Well, here are some statistics the Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) has come up with:

• Washing machine: Each year, the energy used to run an average washing machine produces 90 kilograms of greenhouse gas.
• Warm water: If you wash your clothes using warm water, add another 475 kilograms of greenhouse gas to this. This works out to be around 4 kilograms of greenhouse gas produced per wash.
• Dryer: If you use a dryer, add another 150 kilograms to that.
• Detergents: For top loading washing machines, the production of washing detergent generates around 0.3 kg of greenhouse gas per wash. For front loaders, it’s around half of that.

What surprised me is the amount of greenhouse gas produced by using warm water. I knew clothes dryers used up a lot of energy but I wasn’t expecting the hot water to produce more than 3 times the greenhouse gas compared to the dryer. I’m glad I only use cold water to wash my clothes!

If you combine the 90 kg (from running the washing machine) with 475 kg for the water, you end up with 565 kilograms of greenhouse gas produced each year - just from washing your clothes!

If you use warm water and a dryer, you could be producing a staggering 715 kilograms of greenhouse gas just from doing your laundry!

What to do about this?

By doing the following, you can help reduce your carbon footprint:

• Use cold water to wash your clothes. As seen above, using cold water can significantly reduce the greenhouse gases produced from washing your clothes. By using cold water, you can reduce your greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 4 kilograms per wash!
• Don’t waste washing detergent. Production of washing detergent contributes to greenhouse gases.
• Buy washing detergents made from natural substances. They will contribute much less to your carbon footprint.
• Avoid washing clothes that don’t really need to be washed.
• Another thing we can do is, when clothes shopping, look for clothes with self cleaning properties. Some clothes available today come with a self-cleaning textile finish called NanoSphere.
• Avoid using the clothes dryer. Hang your clothes on the clothes line if you can. With a good breeze, your clothes will be dry in no time!

The Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) recently produced a publication called Global Warming - Cool It!. In it, they provide an outline of the various household activities that produce greenhouse gases.

Some of the biggest producers of greenhouse gas include:

• Traveling to work
• Traveling for other activities (shopping, recreation etc)
• Water heating
• Various electrical appliances/devices

Here’s a more detailed breakdown:

For those of use looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint, this gives us a good indication of where to start. In particular, by concentrating on those areas that produce the most greenhouse gas, we can make a bigger difference.

In my post about reducing greenhouse gas, I discuss some of the things each of us can do to reduce our carbon footprint.

Most people assume that when they push the “Off” button on their TV or other electrical appliance, that it is actually turning the thing off. The reality is that, in most cases, the appliance will actually continue to use electricity even after it’s been switched off.

The vast majority of electrical appliances can’t actually be switched off completely without you pulling the plug out of the mains socket. These appliances churn through electricity all day, every day, for as long as you have the device plugged in to the mains.

Given the number of electrical devices that most households leave plugged into the wall, this can be a huge problem for the electricity bill and for the environment.

There’s even a name for it…

This phenomena is commonly referred to as “standby power” or “standby current”. Standby power is the power that is consumed when an electrical device is switched off or not performing it’s primary role. In some cases, a device will need to be in standby mode, but in most cases it doesn’t.

Various studies around the world have estimated that standby power accounts for between 5% and 13% of household energy consumption. That’s about the same energy required to run your fridge. That’s a lot of unnecessary power consumption!

Also, studies have estimated that standby power accounts for as much as 1% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. The amount of greenhouse gases that our electrical devices are producing these days is having an enormous impact on global warming. And global warming is having an enormous impact on our planet. The less electricity we consume, the better.

Why do we need Standby Power?

Some electrical devices have a “standby mode”, where it will continue to operate in a reduced capacity while it has been turned off. This is where standby power is required.

Examples of where standby power is required:

• Devices that need to maintain signal reception (eg, telephones, remote controls)
• Devices that need to monitor temperature (eg, refrigerator)
• Devices that need to power an internal clock
• Devices that need a continuous LCD display

In most cases though, electrical devices don’t require standby power. There’s no reason you would want this device to stay “on” when you’ve turned it “off”. These devices are simply using standby power through inefficient design. They are churning through electricity 24/7 for no good reason.

What’s being done about it?

Agencies around the world have recognized this problem with standby power and are beginning to do something about it.

For example, in 1999, the International Energy Agency (IEA) established a “one-watt plan”. The one-watt plan is a proposal that all participating countries develop energy policies that restrict standby power usage to no more than 1 watt per device by 2010.

Fortunately, technology advancements have improved the efficiently of electrical devices. Also, many devices could easily be redesigned to use less standby power.

What should I do about it?

The easiest thing you can do to reduce standby power consumption is pull the plug out.

Take a look at all your electrical appliances and determine whether any of them need to be in “standby mode” after you turn them off. For the ones that don’t, simply pull the plug out of the mains power when you’re finished with them. As well as helping the environment, this could cut your household electricity bill by 13%.

You could also purchase a power saving device such as Power Genie. Power Genie sits between your electrical devices and the mains power and ensures that when you turn your device “off” it really is “off”.