Climate change and Scotland as a Hydro Nation

[Howard Dryden]

Climate change and Scotland as a Hydro Nation

by Howard Dryden

Dec 2015 

The whole economy is based on the pretext that climate change and the circular economy are important and critical for some communities, but in the whole scheme of things,  nobody is really concerned and nobody really believes that it will have a major impact.  This is why we have the likes of India saying that they will double their consumption of fossil fuels over the next 20 years.  Brasil  and Arica are also going to increase and China may increase or stay the same.

There will be a shift is sea level,  there will be climate change, and there will be costs associated,  but there are also costs associated with addressing climate change. Human attitude is not to spend money unless you have to, and spending money on climate change is an insurance policy that you are paying out for, but in reality it probably wont happen, so its a waste of money.

The above is a cynical  perspective but it is not far from the truth.

The majority of people if anyone actually understand climate change, we work with models and don't have all the inputs that impact on the climate.  We can hardly tell what the weather will be in 3 days, so how can we predict what it will be like in 30 years.  We therefore need to simplify everything down to the basic levels.

1. We are not going to be able to reduce the burning of fossil fuels in time for it to make a difference, especially if oil prices get even lower.

2. We should of course continue to reduce the burning of fossil fuels but this will only happen it it makes economic sense, not environmental sense.

We can not rewire the economy,  unless there is a very good reason to spend money that is not directly related to making a profit.  So lets forget about climate change and focus on the preservation of our environment  because it is the environment / ecosystems that control the climate.

80% of our oxygen comes from plants in the oceans, around 30% of our CO2 is absorbed in the sea and about 30% by terrestrial plants, the remainder may be adsorbed by silicate mineral reactions.  We know for sure that the pH of  the oceans are falling,  and we know for sure that the pH will be around pH 7.95 over the next 25 to 40 years and that there ill be a cascade destabilisation of the marine ecosystem. The oceans control our climate, produce our oxygen and absorb a high percentage of the CO2, yet they will have lost this ability in 40 years.  There is no question that this will not happen,  so our focus should not  just be around reducing CO2, because it is almost  irrelevant.  If the marine ecosystem crashes,  it will also drag down the terrestrial ecosystem and climate change will be the least of our problems.

The focus for Scotland and rewiring of our economy as a Hydronation should therefore be on the preservation of our ecosystem, land, air and water. We are surrounded by water, our economy is based on water and if we take a technological solution to preserving the ecosystem we can take a world lead and start to influence and change, perceptions and attitudes, and maybe find a solution for climate change.  So how do we rewire the economy;

1. We avoid the use of priority chemicals, and develop other products that do not contain the chemicals

2. We develop recycling technology to avoid the discharge of chemicals into the atmosphere, landfill and water

3. We develop technology to clean air, and treat water

4. Plant more trees and protect and develop peat bogs

Scotland is now a Hydronation, but how can we be called a Hydronation when we cause pollution by chemicals that are deemed to be too far toxic to be in the environment.  If we can develop and demonstrate the technology to solve the problems and show other countries  how to clean up your air, soil and water to create a cleaner safer environment,  then they will follow.  China is very keep to progress with clean technology to help protect their environment because they now understand that you do not have a sustainable economy unless you have a sustainable environment.  The Bangladesh government have the same attitude because they have nearly destroyed their environment.

The earths oxygen levels are falling and recently NASA reported that over the last 18 years plankton plant growth in the oceans is dropping by 1% year on year. This is not due to climate change, because extra CO2, nutrients and a slightly warmer temperature should actually increase productivity.  The ocean ecosystem is now crashing, probably due to to priority chemicals, and the tipping point is fast approaching.

Scotland has some decisions to make,  we can follow the follow the crowd like a heard of sheep on the CO2 band waggon and have zero to no influence on other countries or the environment, or we can make a stand as a Hydro Nation and follow a zero toxic pollution policy, inform the world, and allow nature to recover and help the oceans continue to produce our oxygen and increase CO2 assimilation.  We must work with nature and adopted an ecosystem approach to  wiring our economy so that we actually have a future.