Thursday, February 25, 2010

My philosophy over carbon-cut feasibility.

It is nowhere wrong to say that climate change is a problem and that is challenging the knowledge and wisdom of human kind and has become an urgent pervasive preoccupation across the globe. The matter has been alarming and running over the round of tables almost since the Earth summit, Reo De Zenario, 1992, the time United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change (UNFCCC). And it has been continuing in the same pace till the Cancun, Mexico, 2010 without any binding resolution so far.

Another concern of the day is -- How far it will go in the same pace and when the concrete resolution will be laid down ?

The answer of this two question can be deduced from the relationship between the energy and the economy of the nation. The fact is that economic growth is directly proportional to the consumption of energy, I.e., complementary factors. Or, energy is the cause and consequence of economic growth . And another point for the question is to what extent the means of mitigation are feasible in this large base of population.

To go with, as no one is brave enough to cut the carbon emission, the means of carbon trading , or emission trading. To define, the total amount of allowance credit is set equivalent to the total emission level, that cannot exceed. If the nation or company that need to increase their emission allowance must bye credits from whom those who pollute less. The transfer of allowance is referred to as a trade, In effect, the buyer is paying the charge for polluting. While the seller Is being rewarded for having reduce emission by more than was needed. So, the fact is that the emission is continuing what the difference is only the change of the place if emission. There is no reduction anywhere. Even though it is not means for India that doesn’t affect the energy consumption and economic growth. It is nowhere a feasible means in the long run.

Renewable resource technology is also an add to this need of energy, but the concern is the meagerness of this technology in India, lack of economy for this Research and Development(R&D) in the field of Solar, wind and Ocean. Hydel power cannot serve all the grid of the nation without the Thermal Power plants. Hydel Power projects is also directly proportional to the environment hazard.

In the section of Biofuel Technology also the same adverse effect is found. There is lack of technology and economy for its R&D. And it adversely affect the food security of the nation, meaning:raising another problem while pressing one problem. Large area occupation of Biofuel plants like Zatropha for Biodiesel and Sugarcane for Ethanol, to example, affect the food security of the nation. Need of Biodiesel can be control but it cannot be happened to stomach. Reasonably, it is obvious to continue the fossil fuel energy consumption. So, this means is hardly feasible in the Indian arable soil. If anyone urge to convert the non-arable soil for the cultivation of Biofuels, why not it is arable for staple crops, why it is not extended the ecumene  to the dry deserts till yet, thereby, why not to solve the problem of leap jump food inflation first of all. Here,what I would like to ponder over is the results of the computer simulated models of 'the theory of Limits to Growth' which bear the meaning that almost every economic growth is associated with a side-effect somehow.

Pertaining to this, it is found hard to discuss about the direct and indirect taxes also. When tax is simultaneously levied over road and vehicle manufacturing industries beyond the level that drastically cut the consumer's choice for demand, which the growth of the nation’s GDP would be dampened all of a sudden is obvious. It is not possible to levied any tax beyond the limit. Industries is the backbone of the economy of the nation. Almost all of the industries contribute to carbon emission.

In context of nuclear energy also, not only the the raw material, the technology is very limited,  which is the main factor is almost negligible to count from indigenous rather than import. Even though with this meager amount of nuclear energy, it’s a big dilemma between civil and defense purposes. For yet, as there is no binding document laid for emission cut, nuclear for defense is more important for this on going cold war over geo-political issues for its security. The point that could reveal is that there is no way to reduce the emission cut rather than going parallel with alternate means.

To conclude, the natural order that birth and death for every thing in the universe is also seen hidden in the minds of people but inevitable factor for all what happening on the earth at minor and in the universe at vast. All planets have its birth and death, then, so as the particles that formed it. In the same way, the productivity of the soil cannot be like before. Amount of resource cannot be like before. Consequently, adaptation is more important than mitigation. There is not technology in human sympathy to eliminate the large base of population. There is no technology against the law of diminishing marginal productivity of land. There is no technology to prevent from depletion of fossil resource. There is no technology to manipulate the human desire, rather the reverse. Lastly, there is no technology to develop a time machine to back the globe to the time before industrialization rather than opting for a mental control which now a days termed as 'sustainable development' and burning Hydro Carbons along with alternative non-conventional source of energy at parallel.

There is sufficiency in the world for men’s need but not for men’s greedy.
M.K. Gandhi

(This article has already been published by the same author in the annual magazine of Dyal Singh College, Delhi University )