Yes - the sensible move would be to hydrogen but the UK is well behind the curve on this.

www.h2stations.org

Zoom in Europe then the UK and note the lack of little dots here compared with Germany and particularly Norway and the USA.

Starving people in Africa have a lot more to fear from the likes of Mugabe than from climate change.

As regards the emissions from the ever larger ships in world trade .... such ships are large enough in terms of physical size, space available and power available to be able to effectively 'scrub' their funnel exhausts. The means are available to vastly reduce such emissions, but, as usual with everything related to the maritime sector, ship owners and their customers, in turn, balk at the minimal additonal costs such a requirement would bring.

It is, of course, a hollow arguement as such technology, if implemented by statute and regulation on a worldwide basis, would provide none of the parties any particular competitive advantage and the incremntal cost per contianer, tonne carried, or over the life of the vessel would be negligable.

Its like everything else in life though, if 'we' don't demand it, 'it' won't happen.

... `Duncan McLaren, chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "In the rush towards biofuels, there is a risk to our biodiversity because our wildlife is being endangered." '

Of course, what he really means is that biofuel does not meet his objective of driving cars off the road. I don't know which is worse - that he is hijacking Green measures in his anti-car drive or that he gets paid for pushing this kind of eco-loony stance.

All this brouhaha over climate is devoid of any substantial evidence and increasingly becomes like Marxism of a different colour.

Hundreds of millions of pounds (or dollars or Deutschmarks etc.) look like being gifted to other countries. Redistribution of wealth is the name of the game.

Oh how I love this subject.

Since we all need to save the earth without giving up any of the excesses in our lives, we find ourselves screwing the poor and the weak.

I guess this is all part of the plans of the global warming crowd. Starve the third world populations to death, thus reducing humanities footprint on the earth.

"the farming of areas previously covered by Europe's set-aside policy, threatened wildlife. Duncan McLaren, chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland"
These nutters won't be happy until the whole world is in set-aside.

Here we go again - Global warming, windfarms and Duncan McLaren spouting his usual drivel.
All of this so large businesses can make lots of money and more excuses to be taxed more.

Highly misleading way to work fairtrade into the article. Taking coffee as an example, fairtrade is only 2% of the world market, all of which is ANYWAY shipped around the world. So not only is it a tiny part, the fact that it is fairtrade is meaningless in this context.

So why stress it?

"Strategist" - where are we going to get all this hydrogen? There is no hydrogen to be found and drilled out, meaning it has to be made from other sources which requires....energy. That energy comes from? Burning something else.

I believe it was Mercedes head of technology who termed these "Hydrogen fool cells". He's pretty accurate.

Climate change is a fad of the moment, a bit like obesity. There is still not the least evidence that the 'climate changes' are anything other than the normal earth's weather and temperature cycles.

BUT there is a huge amount of money to be made here.

If the UK embraces climate change we can cut our energy imports (remember we are a net importer now).

Industry can generate a whole new raft of expensive products from biofuels to solar turbines.

Farming can charge the earth for doing what they've always done anyway.

What a load of .....

Well done #13. Notice that all 'experts' preface their comments on the man-made nature of global warming by "There can be little doubt.." or "Evidence is mounting..." and similar phrases. I have yet to see any definitive evidence that global warming is man-made. Underground fires in Indonesia alone account for almost as much warming as can be attributed to human activity. The last few hundred years have actually been abnormally stable. Some change (up or down) was inevitable eventually. Our attempts at ameliorating the situation will be like p***ng in the ocean. More importantly we should be devoting planning and research to cope with what is becoming an ever more apparent disaster scenario. Moving communities and being prepared for mass human migration.

There are many solutions to decreasing our own carbon footprint but, as usual, the fundamentalist environmentalists want to have their cake and eat it. Continuing to use coal, with security of supply, whilst storing the CO2 in old oil wells is fast becoming the clear solution. Well done Scottish Power for their forward-thinking project at Longannet. Let's make Scotland great!

'There are also calls for the use of controversial GM crops to produce cheaper food.'
GM crops will not be cheaper as they will require lots of chemicals from the pharmaceutical industry and also seeds. Many farmers. particularly from poorer countries keep some of their crop for the next year's seeds. Most GM crops will be sterile meaning seeds will have to be bought every year.

It is impossible to comment on anything as long as Wendy Alexander is at large. Admitted to breaking the law, with up to 1 year in prison awaiting her, and yet she walks free.

if the world eats more than it produces then the world should reduce population or increase food production.

In the mother nature laws when there is not enough food and too much mouths the week and the old/ weak die leaving the strong. Now do the FoE advocate this policy where millions would have to die to rebalanced the equilibrium?

In a pruely scientific non humanitarian view, the west is exasperating the problem by feeding million on substance only aid where there are too many people and the land cannot sustain them. In olden days these people would die and the balance redressed.

Now in todays world we cannot allow millions of people to die because they cannot feed themselves so we feed them quite rightly so. it is a never ending loop mother nature cannot redress the balance because we cannot allow the suffering what is the solution.

1/ allow them to die.....not an option

2/ use GM foods....an option but not overly palatable

3/ teach contraception to naturally reduce the burden on the land...best option but unenforceable in places like Africa where the need is most acute

Sounds like reason to invest in agriculture on our land, rather than elitist Golf courses up in the North East.

Go mr Forbes - Farms are our future !

#11 Scott_B

There are a growing number of ways of producing hydrogen that don't involve burning stuff. Electrolysis of water is one but chemists are also developing ways of getting bugs to produce it as well by breaking down waster.

There are now a number of interesting projects where part of the output of a wind farm is used to produce hydrogen which is then stored and used later to generate electricity when the wind isn't strong enough or as a means of smoothing the wind farm output.

A couple of examples spring to mind. The Norwegians have a plant on the island of Utsira and the Australians have been trialling one as well. Go Google wind hydrogen..

So renewable sources including offshore wind and tidal power would seem a couple of the most logical options for large scale H2 production for Scotland.

I'm sure the Norwegians will sell us their electrolysers and the Danes or Americans will sell us their wind turbines.

What hasn't been mentioned in this analysis is that the majority of world grain (and about 90% of the world's soya) goes to feed livestock.

A couple of years ago, I caluculated, using government figures, that the amount of grain fed to livestock in Scotland alone would meet the grain needs of around 10 million people (about twice our population).

O-Grade biology tells me that you lose 90% of energy production for each step up the food chain. Therefore, to feed more people, we as a species need to eat less animal food.

I'm sure it's not a complete solution, but it would help!

Of course, less biofuel and more efficient, more frequent buses would also help.

Its time to let Africa feed herself and other nations to feed themselves. The days of hand outs are over.......

Has anyone else noticed that the Hootsman has closed commenting on the Windy story!!

SHAME!!!!!

At the next election I certainly will not be voting for the New Hootsman Numpty Party!!

Well that is a first nobody blaming the poor old Poms for everything. Still early posts yet !!
I detect the occasional voice of reason among the posts recognizing that climate change has been going on ever since the "big bang".
Windfarms have been truly well marketed and about as useful as tits on a bull. They could never carry base loads! And what visual pollution they are.
What surprises me is there no concept of scale when listening or reading these theoretical fixes. The only true clean non polluting power source has all too many scared of it.
By all means lets clean our act up to provide a cleaner world atmosphere there is much to be done but lets not be led by the nose believing that "we are o' doomed"

#22

Does that mean there will be no more air-freighted fresh produce from poor African countries? Does that mean rich countries will stop looting the resources of poor African countries by greasing the palms of corrupt officials?

One of several reasons many African countries are in trouble is the economic policies of rich countries.

#17 Dave from Barra
'That's the point of GM crops, they require LESS chemical and fertilizers and grow in more extreme conditions.'
That's what the companies, such as Monsanto, say as there reasoning for GM crops. I wish that was true, unfortunately, if you read about places where GM crops are being grown commercially there is a lot of illness due to increased and stronger sprays.

oops!
'there' reasoning should be 'their' reasoning

It is a fabulous irony of the Kyoto-driven world that production of a major carbon-emitting material such as coal will not fall. It will simply be mined somewhere else, such as in Africa and Indonesia where there are “Kyoto-free”, coal-rich zones called emerging countries.

Manufacturers should have to provide a 10 year warranty on consumer goods. That will push the price up, make people keep stuff longer anyway, and reduce the pollution caused by production. It will also provide local jobs in a maintenance and repair industry and cut back on imported goods.

Taxes on income, death duties below 1-million and general living costs should be vastly reduced to allow people to live a slower simpler life - and reduce their environmental impact into the bargain.

Encourage pursuit of social, outward-bound, cultural and intellectual interests as a way of having a fulfilling lifestyle, bringing kids up in a family home and balance our population indigenously rather than 'importing' additions to the 'UK government's human herd' to provide for the growth they so desperately crave for.

Reduce the number of humans in this country and campaign for the initiative to reduce the world population - dramatically. Halve the population halve the pollution. May not suit the globalisation aims of corporate dominated capitalist nation's governments, but it's an answer, plain and simple.

Before the people that insulted me on a previous thread (before it was closed) get here... here are the links.

Firstly, the GB Treasury report that got zero press because it goes counter to the tax exercise known as AGW:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/5/7/Solar_Cycles_24_a...

A series of videos by a world leading environmentalist with a realistic view on the hsitory of climate change:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOLkze-9GcI

Sceptic "ranked as the world's 14th most influential academic"
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hg2Pqo8i-U2NY_ie-RrHt...

A Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works report on "laughable global warming warnings":
http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRo...

Showing that consensus sucks and that "peer review" will be the most deserved casualty when the inevitable, and imminent, cooling happens:
http://antigreen.blogspot.com/2007/09/consensus-evaporate...

I expect apologies from the rabid bandwagoneers as much as I expect Al Bore to return his Nobel and Oscar and retract his

inconvenient crock.

I do, however, fully expect the scientists whose funding depends on the edifice of "humans done it" to be concentrating on using

their hot air exclusively to thaw out their frozen fingers very soon.

Global warming is a myth on a par with peak

An important related issue to consider is population control.

As the article reports we are over eating our food production.

With more than six billion of us eating, this may be inevitable. In addition, to feeding humanity, we are straining to provide housing, education and medical care for our numbers.

The increased urbanization takes a toll on the energy budget as urban recreation tends to be more electrically intensive than other forms of relaxation. All those play stations, stereos and TV sets drain a lot of juice.

It is important that we in the West are affirmative about the value of smaller families and that we define moral and spiritual values to counteract the doctrines of fertility being preached in so many developing countries.

I'm going survivalist - grow my own veg, keep my own chickens, make my own clothes and brew my own deisel. You lot are all screwed....

Why not use non-food crops or non-food crop wastes?

The whole point of this recent round of eco-mentalism is for one purpose and one purpose only.

To make money.

It drives me to the brink of madness to hear all this climate change crap being spouted.

The Earth is in a constant state of flux and changes over time, are we to blame?

What can we do about it if we are? Not a lot as long as industry, big business and other countries do nothing.

As usual the average Joe gets the blame and what is the UK government's solution? Charge more taxes obviously. Force ordinary people who are barely surviving as it is to take on more of the workload.

Will Mr Brown and his cronies get rid of their jags and fly less? No.

The rich carry on as normal and the poor get it rammed right up 'em.

I am all for saving the planet. Why not recycle and re-use where we can but I don't understand how the blame always comes down to people like me while vast factories are pumping ton after ton of crap into the air.

Maybe the thousand plus nuclear devices exploded in the atmosphere had something to do with it?

Maybe that big ball of fire in the sky every day has something to do with it?

Maybe governments who have ignored the problem until someone realised how much monet can be made had something to do with it?

No.

If the politicians and media are to be believed, the reason climate change exists is that I have had my central heating turned up too high and I have been leaving my TV on standby.

It is a joke and it is on us.

This is two pounds of bunk, trying to be stuffed into a one pound bag. The ONLY thing the world is short of is common sense, and the will to tell PC nut cases to be off, and let sensible people get on with getting the job of fueling, and feeding the world done. Look out Chicken Little, the sky is falling is at present all the style and rage. But the only thing that is falling is common sense. Correct that, and all is well. Don't correct that and the loosers force their pandering losing on all.

16-Stephen 101

.... HOW DARE YOU MENTION WENDY WHEN THE "SCOTSMAN" IS TRYING ITS DAMNDEST TO COVER HER UP!...... SHAME ON YOU!

I am not much into writing to the press !! But I just sent a letter to the Church Times in London, suggesting that the NGO's like Oxfam and Christian Aid etc, ought to get together on a campaign, maybe called "Feed the People First", as it looks like the future priority will be to grow crops to turn into motor fuel and to hell with the local population and its food crops in Africa & Asia. I hope they print my letter and that something can be done

Good luck to you Dileas-Sean, a very good point, food before the pleasure of joy riding, free loading degenerates on the way to nowhere special.

-- The ONLY thing the world is short of is common sense.

It's GOOD SENSE that is lacking.

Even if climate alarmists are correct, the Earth is not at risk, only the human race. If we were to disappear, it would only be one small event in a long line of them. Just aske the dinosaurs, which were around a lot longer that we've been.

-41.
Unfortunately it's not just the human race at risk. We are in the midst of a mass extinction already and climate change pressures are exacerbating this. Seems likely we will take majority of species down with us. Personally I feel that humans may cling on in some form, but the poor people referred to in this article are doomed unless radical action is taken now.

#42, the problem, as always, is how to 'sell it' in a democracy. I attended a lecture last year by Dennis Meadows (co-author of 1970's Club of Rome 'Limits To Growth') and he explained the concept of a 'hard' problem, one where difficult decisions had to be taken in the short term in order to obtain a much better result in the future. In case of climate change (and energy consumption which is closely related) the benefits of a change of direction take a couple of decades to feed through, far outside typical timespan for politicians of just the next election. Here's a summary of Dennis Meadows' presentation: http://energybulletin.net/19773.html

Another scientist, Richard Heinberg, has just published this paper which, when I read it, left me in little doubt as to what needs to change (and soon) and what the consequences are likely to be if change is not forthcoming: http://globalpublicmedia.com/richard_heinbergs_museletter...

These problems are only going to become more acute as the 21st century advances, population increases and resources upon which modern agriculture depends deplete. At some point, preferably very soon, we are going to have to act otherwise the default option will be invoked - a Nature imposed solution due to overshoot. Having read books on overshoot recently I don't want to go there...but that's the way we are headed right now.