The ABC of Carbon: “B” is for Bangladesh and bio-jet fuel…

Ken Hickson gives us the second instalment of his new exclusive column for ClimateChangeCorp.com: “The ABC of Carbon”. Under 'B', he introduces us to Bangladesh, bio-jet fuel, a biodiversity study involving Brazil and Brisbane, news that boats are bigger emitters than we bargained for, and burning.

Bangladesh
bio-jet fuel
biodiversity study
boats
burning


Bangladesh. As a low-lying country, much of Bangladesh is regularly flooded by surges in both the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. When the surges coincided in 1987, about one third of the country was under water. In 1970, the storm surge from a cyclone killed 300 000 people and in 1991 there was devastation from another cyclone resulting in 139 000 deaths.

In his landmark work Greenhouse Effect, Sea Level Rise, and Land Use published in Land Use Policy, April 1990, J.G.Titus said that “a rise in sea level from the greenhouse effect would inundate many low areas, erode shorelines, exacerbate flooding, and increase water supply problems in coastal areas.” For Bangladesh, 17% of the counrty would be inundated by a one-metre rise in sea level. However, Titus pointed out that the most adverse consequences of this could be averted by taking timely measures in anticipation.

Most important, he said at the time, is a worldwide agreement to curtail emissions of greenhouse gases, which will mitigate all of the problems. 'Developing nations, however, must decide for themselves how they ultimately intend to respond to a rise in sea level, and make at least some tentative decisions fairly soon.' That 1990 alert from Titus, backed up by science and disaster experience, has still not been heeded.
Sources: www.unep.org and www.epa.gov/climatechange/effects/downloads/landuse.pdf


bio-jet fuel. Air New Zealand and Rolls-Royce are joining forces with Boeing to conduct a biofuel demonstration flight designed to help accelerate the development of viable and sustainable alternative fuels for commercial aviation uses. Boeing is exploring second-generation biofuel feed stocks and processes that have the potential to reduce greenhouse gases throughout their entire lifecycle.

The demonstration flight is planned for the second half of 2008 using an Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 equipped with Rolls-Royce engines. Boeing is in discussions with fuel-source providers around the globe to identify potential biofuels that are available in suitable quantities for laboratory and jet-engine performance testing, and which comply with stringent aviation requirements. A significant first step is identifying progressive fuel sources that will provide better economic and environmental performance for air carriers, without any change to aircraft engines or the aviation fuel infrastructure.
Source: www.boeing.com


biodiversity study. The Australian city Brisbane and Brazil have joined forces in Queensland's Karawatha Forest so scientists can track and record animal and plant growth for several years. The Program for Planned Biodiversity Studies(PPBio) is a partnership between Griffith University (Centre for Innovative Conservation Strategies), Brisbane City Council, SEQ (South East Queensland) Catchments and Brazil's National Institute for Amazon Research to map the effects of human factors on different environments and the impact of climate change.

Project leader of PPBio, associate professor Jean-Marc Hero says the study provides a sound basis for standardising biodiversity assessment and monitoring. This is integrated into wetland, marine, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems with grids established in Brazil and Australia, with a proposed extension to Nepal and Malaysia. The PPBio team is also currently collaborating with WWF and Tribhuvan University in Nepal to train Nepalese officials and establish the first Nepal PPBio grid in December this year.
Source: www.griffith.edu.au/centre/cics/ppbio


boats. Carbon dioxide emissions from shipping are double those from aviation, and are increasing at an alarming rate, which will have a serious impact on global warming, according to research by the industry and European academics (Reported by John Vidal, Environment Editor The Guardian on 3 March 2007). Separate studies suggest that maritime carbon dioxide emissions are not only higher than previously thought, but could rise by as much as 75% in the next 15-20 years if world trade continues to grow, and no action is taken.

The figures from the oil giant BP, which owns 50 tankers, and researchers at the Institute for Physics and Atmosphere in Wessling, Germany, reveal that annual emissions from shipping range between 600 million and 800 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, or up to 5% of the global total. This is nearly double Britain's total emissions, and more than that of all African countries combined. Carbon dioxide emissions from ships do not come under the Kyoto agreement or any proposed European legislation, and few studies have been made of them, even though they are set to increase.
Source: www.guardian.co.uk


burning. Forest fires continually plague our world, not only destroying livelihoods, homes and timber, but also the natural habitat of wildlife. It has also become clear that these fires are contributing massive amounts of carbon dioxide to the earth's atmosphere. These fires can be the result of the destruction of Amazon rainforests, the clearing of trees on a mammoth scale in Indonesia or the 'accidental' fires that destroy hectares of bush - native or otherwise - in Europe (Greece mid-2007), California (at regular intervals and disastrously in October 2007) or Australia (every summer).

Deforestation, whether planned or accidental, is responsible for about 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and accounts for about 80% of emissions from developing economies such as Indonesia. See also Climate Change: The Choice, a paper presented to the South Australian Local Government Association Conference by Peter Cosier on 13 April 2007.
Source: www.wentworthgroup.org


Extracts from the second chapter B in “The ABC of Carbon: issues and opportunities in the global climate change environment” by Ken Hickson. “The ABC of Carbon” is being published and released in Australia in December 2007. Visit www.abccarbon.com for more information or email kenhickson@bigpond.com