A Coal-Less Future for India and China

 At a global level, all ecosystems are adversely affected by CO2 emissions. It is the consensus of the scientific community that a reduction in the amount of CO2 emissions will help improves the current situation with our climate. Here in Canada, we are taxed on all sorts of carbon emissions. We are often reminded that we should reduce our carbon footprint. Some even say that we should even stop eating steaks – ludicrous isn’t it? But, a simple chart like the one below, from ourworldindata.org, shows that Canada is not among the largest CO2 problem countries in the planet. 

It is obvious that Canada is not one of the main contributors to global CO2 emission levels. China and India are two of the largest industrial countries in the world that rank high on the chart above. One major contributor is the reliance of their industries on power generation from coal as seen in the chart below from ourworldindata.org.

As we can see from the chart below, from chinadialogue.net, Majority of electricity generation of both countries comes from coal.

If I had the money, time, power, and resources, I would invest my time and resources to wean India and China from coal and move them towards cleaner renewable energy sources. I know that both countered have a lot of manufacturing and need massive amounts of energy, but the needs of the Earth is more important than theirs. Both countries are vast and have large areas with an abundance of sunshine during the year. Solar panels can be installed to generate electricity from the sun. Both countries have large areas of flat lands and large coastal areas.  These areas can be used for installation of wind turbines to generate electricity from the wind. Both countries also have plenty of rivers and waterfalls that may be used for hydro-electrical power generation.

India and China may argue that these initiatives will be very expansive. Since I have the money I will help them financially. The two countries may argue that many of their citizens are employed by the coal industry and move from that to other methods of power generation will put many people out of work. Since I have the money and the resources, I will help them plan and provide training for their coal workers so that they can be employed in other industries.

They may still be reluctant to make the changes to reduce their coal consumption. Since I have the power, I will force them to do so.

But realistically, if we believe that we are at a crucial stage with global CO2 emissions, it will benefit all of us for these two countries, to move away from coal as fast as possible. If I had the power, I would establish a global initiative to help India and China with the finances and logistics of moving away from coal.

References:

-    Hannah Ritchie, Max Roser and Pablo Rosado (August 2020), CO₂ and Greenhouse Gas Emissions, ourworldindata.org,  https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-other-greenhouse-gas-emissions
-    Hannah Ritchie, Max Roser and Pablo Rosado, Energy Mix, ourworldindata.org , https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix#coal-what-share-of-energy-comes-from-coal
-    Whose power plans are greener: China or India?, chinadialogue.net, https://chinadialogue.net/en/energy/9770-whose-power-plans-are-greener-china-or-india/

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Switching to a Bee-Friendly Source of Energy

 I have been asked to publish a post to discuss energy creation and its potential impact on an ecological issue of my concern.  In previous posts, I have written about the decline in bee population and the effects of human activity that contribute to their decline.  In this post, I will discuss how the use of fossil fuels negatively impacts the environment, and how increase use of renewable sources of energy can reduce negative effects on the bee’s habitat. I will also discuss how solar energy can be a viable source of renewable energy that can help with improving the health of the bee’s habitat. 

A high percentage of electricity is created from non-renewable energy sources such as coal, and natural gas. Globally we get the largest amount of our energy from oil, followed by coal, and gas. Then, in the 4th place is the, hydroelectric power. According to post titled Energy mix by ourworldindata, the global energy mix is dominated by fossil fuels, accounting for more than 80% of energy consumption. 

The chart below, from ourworldindata, shows that in many places there is a high percentage of electricity produced from high carbon sources

As you can see, there are many places around the world, some even among the so-called developed countries, with more than 40% share of high carbon sources of energy. Even in this country, Canada, there is still 20% of electricity production from fossil fuels.

 The adverse of burning fossil fuels on the climate, has been studied, researched and documented for many years. When you burn fossil fuels, large amounts of carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas, are released into air. This can lead to a heat up in our atmosphere and put stress on the natural flora of the bee’s habitat.  Bees, especially bumblebees, are very sensitive to changes in temperature and can be negatively impacted by it. According to an article by Simon Fraser University, “temperature and precipitation both increased, on average, between 1900 and 2020 in the post-industrial revolution period. Temperature changes had primarily negative impacts on bumble bees, with 37 of the 46 species exhibiting greater declines or less positive increases in occupancy under observed temperature changes compared to if the temperature had remained constant.”

 Since the use of carbon-rich sources of energy contribute to a raise in temperatures, and have negative impacts  on the bee population, it is logical that a move away from fossil fuels and towards renewable and cleaner sources of energy can help counteract the negative climate impacts of the fossil fuels, and help with the population of the bees. 

Solar energy is a clean and renewable source of energy with no carbon footprints. With prices of solar panels and installations coming down in recent years, it makes installation of solar panels in rural areas and increasingly attractive proposition. Studies have shown a growth of pollinator-friendly flora under and around the solar panels in solar farms. 

Owners of Solar projects may be encouraged to plant pollinator-friendly flora in addition to the naturally growing plants. This would help with preservation the natural habitat of the bees. Owners of solar projects may plant wildflowers to attract multiple insects which include pollinators,  move their solar panels farther away from agricultural that may not have good biodiversity, and install the panels close to the existing semi-natural habitat with better biodiversity.  

According to an article by energymatters, moving panels away from “intensively managed agricultural landscapes would enable biodiversity to thrive underneath the panels”.

 

In an article of January 14, 2019, Scientific American wrote: "A trend of planting wildflowers on solar sites could maintain habitat for disappearing bees and butterflies". The article writes that "Minnesota-based Great River Energy has introduced pollinator-supporting plants—such as purple prairie clover and wild lupine—at several of its solar sites, as has SoCore Energy at some of its outfits in Wisconsin.", The article continues that "in Minnesota, it is estimated that half of the 4,000 acres of commercial solar projects installed in 2016 and 2017 included pollinator habitat.". The article mentions that there "is some limited evidence (pdf) solar farms with mixed plant life can support a wider array of bee and butterfly communities than those with grass or gravel beds can, but researchers are still investigating just how much this can affect the insects’ long-term survival."

According to an article by beeculture.com, “sites with pollinator habitat have a statistically significant increase in abundance of bees and butterflies (The Effects of Solar Farms on Local Biodiversity, “

 

We know the adverse affects of the burning of fossil fuels on the climate in general and on the bees and their habitat in particular. Solar projects provide an attractive alternative for a clean and renewable energy source. These projects have been proven to help with natural growth of pollinator-friendly flora. Many governments claim to be concerned about the effects of fossil-fuels and climate change. Governments may look into educational and financial ways of encouraging rural landowners to install and maintain solar projects on their land.

 

Sources and References:

-    clientearth.org, (2022, Feb 18) Fossil fuels and climate change: the facts (https://www.clientearth.org/latest/latest-updates/stories/fossil-fuels-and-climate-change-the-facts/)

-    energymatters.com.au (2021, April 27), How bees will benefit from the solar power boom, energymatters.com.au (https://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-news/how-bees-will-benefit-from-the-solar-power-boom/)

-    energyrates.ca, The Main Electricity Sources in Canada by Province, energyrates.ca (https://energyrates.ca/the-main-electricity-sources-in-canada-by-province/)

- Jodi Helmer (Jan 14, 2019), Solar Farms Shine a Ray of Hope on Bees and Butterflies,  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/solar-farms-shine-a-ray-of-hope-on-bees-and-butterflies/

-    Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser, Energy mix, ourworldindata.org (https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix)

-    Rob Davis (2016, July 25), Can Solar Sites Help Save The Bees?, beeculture.com, https://www.beeculture.com/can-solar-sites-help-save-bees)

-    sfu.ca (2022, June 24), Climate change negatively impacting bumble bees: Study, sfu.ca, (https://www.sfu.ca/sfunews/stories/2022/06/climate-change-negatively-impacting-bumble-bees--study.html)

-    Which countries get the most energy from low-carbon sources?, ourworldindata.org, (https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix#which-countries-get-the-most-energy-from-low-carbon-sources)

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