On Fri, 13 Aug 1999, Steve Kurtz forwarded:
> WORLDWATCH NEWS BRIEF 99-5
>
> WORLD CARBON EMISSIONS FALL
Even if this is true, it's only part of the equation -- the other part is
that the carbon "sinks" (forests etc.) continue to decrease. What counts
for the greenhouse effect is the net balance (carbon sources minus sinks).
> During the past two years, the global economy has grown by 6.8 percent,
> while carbon emissions held steady, leading to an impressive 6.4 percent
> decrease in the amount of carbon emissions required to produce $1,000 of
> income.
Ignoring the depletion of carbon sinks in statements like the above is
*greenwash* of economic growth (of which deforestation is an integral part).
During the 1980ies, deforestation had about 1/4 of the annual CO2 impact
of combustion. ( http://ess1.ps.uci.edu/~reeburgh/fig1.html )
Unfortunately, the Kyoto Protocol does not adequately address the issue of
carbon sinks (see http://www.weathervane.rff.org/features/feature050.html ).
Also, don't forget that CO2 emissions are only a part of greenhouse emissions.
Consider e.g. that Methane (CH4) is 56 times more "greenhouse-effective" than
CO2 (during the next 20 years). In the USA, livestock (including manure)
accounts for about 30% of all methane emissions, that's the same amount as
from all fossil fuels (gas, oil, coal) combined. It seems the cattle industry
isn't willing to reduce these emissions...
And there are greenhouse gases with much higher greenhouse effectivity (e.g.
C2F6: 9'200 times, SF6: 24'000 times more effective than CO2).
Greetings,
Chris
