China Goes Green

Well, cough cough, in a few days time, cough cough, the Olympics start in Beijing, cough cough splutter. I sincerely hope that the pollution and poor air quality does not harm any of the participants. While personally, if I were an athlete I would not be prepared to attend the games in a repressive country. However, it has the be a matter of personal concious.

Though the image of me as an athlete though is the most absurd image anyone could conjour as when I had Athletes Foot, I asked for a second opinion!

However, being serious, while china is very heavily pouted as a result of the rapid industrialisation in the country, China is however taking the issue of climate change seriously. While China has the right to develop economical, they have done so thus far by copying the mistakes of the west.

When electricity for lighting first appeared, it was in fact the loss of power through resistance that meant that we have power in our homes of 240 volts. I know there are variations around the world, but the principal is the same. It was the problem of getting power from the power station to the home or end user that lead to a standard of 240 volts in Britain and Europe.

However, had we gone for power for lighting and small appliances of just 12 volts then the system could have incorporated a storage system. Yes even at the beginning of the previous century that would have been possible, using lead acid batteries just as are still used in many cars. When I had my allotment I used a solar panel to charge a battery that lit the shed and chicken house. I know that two people followed my lead and did the same. It only cost me seventy five pounds to do it. It was cheaper for others as they were able to get old batteries, I had bought new. I even thought about doing this at my home, as while lighting is not my largest electricity cost, I could see that recouping the cost would take only a couple of years. Additionally, when I looked further into the issue, I discovered that there were many appliances that are manufactured that run on 12 volts for boats and caravans. For about two thousand pounds I could run a TV a DVD player, Fridge and Freezer even a computer all from solar power. That would have included the cost of the appliances.

This is something that is happening in many developing countries. As solar lighting reaches places that are far away from the “National Grid” (as we in the UK call our electricity infrastructure), it is even cheaper than a 240 volt system as it costs millions to install the infrastructure, the power lines and power stations. However, these systems are mainly installed in the homes of the poor. For example in India where kerosene is still the main source of lighting, these solar systems are installed as part of health programs as the kerosene causes breathing difficulties. The fact that is also environmentally friendly is an added bonus. Incidentally, in India alone fifty thousand tones of CO2 are released annually just from kerosene lamps.

Now I know that my reader is wondering what this has to do with China? As China develops its electricity infrastructure, they are making the same mistakes that we in the west made, large centralised power stations and cables carrying the power from the source of generation to the user. By following this model they are tying themselves into the addiction of power usage. If they went for small scale solar then the lighting and small appliance needs of the entire population could be met at the same cost of five coal fired power stations. Further, it would have the effect of closing down fifteen 1000 mega what stations. That is using current technology.

China is developing green technologies and last year invested twelve billion dollars (US equivalent) in renewables only just behind the world leader, Germany who invested fourteen billion dollars. While the US government hides its inaction on climate change behind the myth that China is doing nothing to combat climate change, the reality is that China spends more as a percentage of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) on renewables than the US and Canada does combined.

Now don't think that I am saying that China is wonderfully environmentally friendly, but they have recognised the problem and are trying to tackle the problem. And they are doing it in ways that are not damaging their economy, in fact they have recognised the economic advantages. The countries that do the most now to develop renewables will have a grater economical advantages in the years to come. While I know that the price of oil has dropped and the price of petrol is now falling, the cost of fossil fuels is going to rise.

Therefore any country that has true renewable energy generation will not have their economies damaged by the wild fluctuations that will continue to happen.

While I do find the Chinese government a distasteful one, I do have the hope that with the eyes on China during the Olympics they (the Chinese Government) can learn from the spirit of freedom that is supposed to be at the heart of the games. Equally, I hope that we can learn that China is trying to be green.

More on the Chinese renewables

Wildlife of China

As my regular reader will know, I have been taking delight with the Natural History series Wild China that has been showing on BBC television over here. The series has been criticised in reviews as being PR for the Beijing Olympics. While I will not shy away from critiquing any government regarding environmental abuse, Human Rights abuse or for just being plain stupid, this is a Natural History series and had the films been critical of China then it would no longer have been about the wildlife.

While a film that was critical could possibly be made, this also is a co production with China TV and if it had been made with the intention of being critical of China then the series would never have been made. Nor would we have discovered all the hidden delights of the previously hidden and unknown wildlife that we have seen thus far. In fact one of the scenes shown tonight would never have been filmed. That of Wild Giant Panda courtship and mating.

Also one of the remarkable aspects of tonight's broadcast was that there was at least some comment of some of the environmental mistakes of the past. Additionally, and this may be seen as propaganda, it appears that China and its dictatorship have realised that serious environmental damage has been done in the past and are at least trying to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. There was also an acknowledgement that greater industrial extraction of water from the yellow river, risks the ability of the central plateau to grow the fifty percent of Chinas wheat that it currently grows.

All the way through the series there have been comments that have highlighted some of the environmental impacts that have occurred in China. And while not apportioning blame, the series has not been shy in providing examples of these. One that was illuminated tonight was the fate of the Crested Ibis. It was thought to have been made extinct, but in 1981 seven individuals were found. A conservation programme was initiated and there are now just over five hundred individuals

While I could be critical, I would rather be constructive. There is no a single political geographic area on this planet that could not do a much better job on the environment, therefore I would rather that we had this limited openness that none at all. There is obviously a tacit propaganda exercise by China, but only from learning more about the world can we hope to change what's wrong and keep what's right.

China, Tibet and the Olympic Torch

Before I go on about what happened on Monday, I have to tell you that on Sunday while running a bath, the telephone rang. Normally it only rings when I am in the bath. However because of this my bath was more full than I intended. Also that meant that my cat “Trouble” (that's her name) was able to sneak into the bathroom and as I was trying to gently lower myself in to the Bath, so she suddenly leapt on to the edge of the bath making me jump, and in my desperation to avoid her slipping in I slipped and crashed down onto my bum. Well the big slosh sent the cat running but I knew that I was going to be bruised.

The reason for telling you this is that on Monday, I was bruised and it made sitting for any prolonged period a little uncomfortable. Not good as I had a meeting in Newcastle with one of the publishers interested in producing the Badger book. So my journey in to the city on the bus was less pleasant than it normally would be. I also had the problem of having to sit through the meeting.

Because of my fidgeting, trying to get comfortable, the publisher thought that I was not happy with the money I was being offered. Thus, instead of signing a contract as we had both expected, the woman I was talking to, decided that the offer was not good enough. Therefore, she will be talking with her partners to see if it cant be increased.

So my bruised butt may have improved my financial status. As was planned I was also taken out to lunch. I told her the reason why I was uncomfortable (so this is not news to her, here) and she had a good laugh both as me, and with me. You could say that I was the Butt of the joke!

Also, as the publishers office is in one of these business units where many small businesses are located, there were other people in the Café who were also from these studios. Further I saw people that I knew. Anyway, this lead to a nice long leisurely lunch, plenty of coffee and some interesting chat. I was then asked if I wanted to meet up again latter at the pub.
That meant that I had most of the afternoon to kill. So I went and wandered around on the Town Moor. I had wished I had taken a camera with me as I could have gotten some good images.

In the pub, it was good to catch up with people that I had known more years ago than I care to remember. One aspect that was uncomfortable, and I am not talking about my bum, was a woman that was/is the partner of one of the people from the publishers. She got tipsy quite quickly and kept on wanting to touch my hair. Further, she kept on saying “I Really Like your Hair” All this in front of her partner. Fortunately they left to get some food.

Once that discomfort was gone, I ended up having a nice long chin wag with some really nice people. While I talked a little about what I was up to, I was more interested in what other folks were up to. This lead to one man saying that he had been in London protesting about Chinas Human rights record in Tibet during the procession of the Olympic torch. Now while I was tempted to say something at the time on here, I didn't see much point in just repeating much of what others were saying. However, I suggested that rather than trying to disrupt the procession that the way to protest was by booing and by everyone turning their back on the torch procession would have been a far more eloquent message to send to the Chinese than the violence that actually happened. I could not believe the way this split people. Some agreed, but far more seemed to think that the torch should have been stopped by any means.

Now I know that not everyone agrees with non violent protesting, as it doesn't always grab the headlines, but I feel that it helps win greater support in the long run than does any aggressive action. As in this case in particular, it would have shown the Chinese what feeling the majority have about their treatment of the peoples of Tibet and that protests don't need to be or end up with violence.

China wins three Olympic Golds

This year's gold medals for repression, oppression and suppression goes to...

China

Welcome to The Wood Mouse’s Diary.

Previously I was using Yahoo 360 to keep a web log or a journal on line regarding my activities in and around the bit of countryside that I live. However, yesterday I discovered that Yahoo was passing on details to the Chinese government of its users and the web sites they visited. As a result of this the Chinese government has jailed dissidents or decentres in china, this includes one journalist who has been given a ten-year sentence for trying to seek out the truth.

Thus I decided not to support Yahoo in any way shape or form, and have moved my Blog from there. Now I will be posting here. I hope that other people will support Human Rights and refuse to use Yahoo. As Yahoo have only done this for financial gain, if no one uses their sites or products they will soon discover that they will be the losers here.

One thing that my readers will discover my politics are neither of the Right nor the Left, my political philosophy is Green. Not a green tint, but a deep green that flows through everything I do. I am a strong believer in Human Rights but not where some so-called rights infringe upon other peoples liberties.

I try hard to make my postings entertaining and interesting. At times they will be humorous, but at other times they will be challenging. I hope that you folks enjoy my Blog. You may disagree with what the mouse says but I moved here because of freedom of speech and I will only ever say what I truly believe

Mouse