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  Global Warming
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The major world wide problem facing the planet at present is global warming. Scientists agree that this is caused by carbon dioxide emissions from motor vehicles, in other words fossil fuels, and coal and natural gas used in electricity generation.

The result, if left unchecked will be increasing world average temperatures, causing among other things, sea temperature increases, species extinction, sea level rise over the next 200 years, and increased desertification of the continents, leading to food shortages, and possibly the abandonment of major cities as they become engulfed by wind blown desert sands.

Ironically the solution is a very simple one which the politicians who are the sole group able to impose a solution, have failed to grasp or implement. For example, it is now December 2011 and the National government of New Zealand has just been re-elected for a secong three year term. Neither they, nor the Labour government which had 9 years in power took the initiative to empose legislation which will fix the problem. The difficulty is that it is a three step solution.

The simplist solution is sometimes the best one.

In broad figures, a 10% tax on all motor fuels at the pump would raise enough revenue to pay all ratepayers $500 per year.

How would this work?

The aim is to replace fossil fuels with a fuel which does not cause global warming. Here is teh irony. The sun produces daily, and deposits free one every (privately owned) section of land on the planet, not hundreds, but thousands of times our total energy consumption.

You can easily test the economics of this argument for yourself. Have a look at your power bill daily and log your electricity usage. If you are like me and live alone in your own home, it will probably be between 10 and 30 units per day.

 Global mean land-ocean temperature change from 1880–2010, relative to the 1951–1980 mean. The black line is the annual mean and the red line is the 5-year running mean. The green bars show uncertainty estimates. Source: NASA GISS

Thirty units is 30 kilowatt hours, or 30 x 1000 watts for 1 hour. The price of electricity (to within a cent or two) at present is 25c per unit, so at 20 units per day, this is a cost of .25c x 20 or $5.00 per day, (30 x $5) $150 per month.

It is possible for me to save 10 units per day, or $75 per month, ($900 per year) using a simple solar water heater.

This device has a solid  state pump controller (temperature switch) (N.Z. patent 174582, which I own-) which uses two thermocouples, one at the bottom of the hot water cylinder, the other at the top of the solar collector, to detect a two degree temperature difference between the two. It switches the pump on, pumping hot water into the hot water cylinder, and cold water from the bottom of the cylinder, into the solar collector, when there is a 2 degree difference. When the difference is less than 2 degrees, it turns the pump off.

The system consists of a pump which draws about 500 watts, or half a unit per hour, but it doesn't run constantly, plus the solid state unit, and is plumbed into the existing hot water cylinder or heater, which is electrically powered.

The point is, that real cost savings from the sun are possible. The capital cost of this unit, at less than $4,000, meaning it will pay for itself in less than four years, and it has lasted over 30 years. If I used more hot water, (had more people in the house) I could save even more, by adding another collector, but it produces more hot water in the summer, than I need or can use.



 Fossil fuel related CO2 emissions compared to five of IPCC's emissions scenarios. The dips are related to global recessions. Data from IPCC SRES scenarios; Data spreadsheet included with International Energy Agency's "CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion 2010 – Highlights"; and Supplemental IEA data. Image source: Skeptical Science

 

Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about 0.8 °C (1.4 °F) with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades.[2] Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and scientists are more than 90% certain most of it is caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by human activities such as deforestation and burning fossil fuel.[3][4][5][6] These findings are recognized by the national science academies of all the major industrialized countries.[7][A]

The point of a petrol tax is that, for the $500 extra I would receive as a rebate if I used  (at $2.00 per litre, consuming $30 worth, or 15 litres per week,  ($1,560 per year)) and paying 10% extra at the pump, or $156.00 per year, a net benefit of $344.00 to me. Even if I use twice as much, or 30 litres per week, now costing me $66.00 per week, i will be better off by $188.00 (figures are very approximate as you know).

One thing is certain, the average person uses well in excess of 30 litres per week once all fuel costs are taken into consideration, including food distribution an transport costs. The rate would be calculated a BTU equivalents, and include diesel, and could be extended to coal used in electricity production, and natural gas.

The rebate $500 per rate payer, would be paid in cash, and used to purchase capital equipment to generate solar electricity.         page  2

 

 

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