Some forms of becoming greener you may not have considered…

How to become greener has become a regular talking point, given the levels of concern over unhealthy climate changes among so many people. For this reason, it seems appropriate for the Café to bring up a number of propositions that reduce the emission of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases.

Our aim is to present ideas that would work and be empowering to the greatest number. Many current notions that hope to reduce negative changes to the climate involve the reduction of liberty rather than the enhancement of it. They also fail to address the underlying causes of global warming and at best act as a stopgap. Such injunctions include the assertions that we should fly less, use the car less, only work close to home etc. Here then are some alternatives:

1. Force the various petrol companies to release patents that allow for more efficient petrol engines. Back in the 1970s, an improvement for car engines was suppressed that allowed cars to do 100 miles per gallon (that is in the region of three times the average fuel efficiency from 2005!). As a palliative, the oil companies could receive 50% of the profits from the products as they are rolled out – the other 50% would go towards subsidizing these devices for cars in the third world. This could impact car users and potentially other forms of engines as well.

2. Sub-aqua turbines and other hydroelectric power sources could be installed all around the UK, allowing electricity to be produced with very limited environmental impact. Any negative impact the installation of the equipment would have on the local environment, would be more than offset by the number of animal lives the electricity would save through equipping vets properly. Britain might even become energy as efficient. We are after all surrounded by water!

3. Use hemp instead of paper. Hemp has been used since the Middle Ages to make goods such as rope, clothes and pulp (for paper). It can grow almost anywhere and grows very quickly once planted. It is a cousin of the cannabis plant, but unlike the cannabis shrub, it does not produce a potentially brain altering substance without the use of a scientific laboratory.

4. Use Linseed rape and other plants to produce the oils we need like ethanol. Since these oils come from plants, they will be carbon neutral by definition. Replace nutrients taken out of the soil with other crops in a cycle similar to that advocated by ‘Turnip’ Townsend.

5. Use bamboo instead of wood. Bamboo will grow almost anywhere and at a very quick rate. Unlike trees, which take many years to mature, bamboo can be harvested with in a matter of months and can be treated to behave in a way very similar to that of wood. By using bamboo, we can preserve the rain forests, which are the lungs of our earth; whilst also experiencing the benefits wood can bring to modern living.

6. Use money gleaned from green taxes on aeroplanes to maximise their efficiency or on making railway journeys cheaper. In a recent article in the New Scientist, it was estimated that emissions could be reduced by 30% at the least from aeroplanes with a number of improvements including streamlining. Railways could also be used, which could get electricity from the green sources outlined above.

7. Use the Sahara Dessert and other areas with lots of sun but not many people, into a giant solar panelled area. Such a place would produce enough energy for a very sizable part of the world’s population. And of course, if such a job were undertaken, by perhaps the UN, the cost of solar panels for the rest of us would come down too.

If I come across more, I will post them. In the mean please post yours as well! Together, we can make the environment really healthy!

(my thanks to Nasa for the use of the photograph of Earth - our home - unless you are reading the blog from outside Earth)