Use energy with consideration

Especially if the source produces carbon dioxide and other noxious gases. Switch off power when not required. Choose cleaner options such as solar and photovoltaic (PV) if you can afford it. Nations should embrace renewable sources of energy.

Oil, gas and coal-fired power stations produce copious amounts of CO², nitrogen and sulphur oxides, and other noxious gases. Coal also produces fly ash. New Zealand has pushed for clean energy derived from wind, hydro and geothermal sources, resulting in the benefit of lower pollution.

A typical coal plant (600MW*) emits 3.5 million tons of CO² per year (37).

In 2007 there were 50 000 coal plants active in the world (4).

The problem is that most of these plants are still in operation. Although they have already caused much of the damage that has resulted in the climate change we witness now, they will continue to compound this damage until they are decommissioned,.

Gas (515 kg/MWh*) is cleaner than coal (1029) as it produces half the CO², while oil (758) lies inbetween (37). Remember that in every hour the earth receives enough solar energy to satisfy all its energy needs for a year, though not all of that is accessible. Quite simply there is no reason for building any new oil, gas or coal-fired power stations today and we should be closing down the worst polluting coal-fired stations.

* Mass of CO² emitted in producing a megawatt - a unit of power - for an hour

Much is published to persuade the public to save power. Solar panels, PV, heat pumps, better home insulation are all good though quite expensive. Instead of government’s spending money on more power generation, they should provide a subsidy to encourage solar panel installation to heat hot water and relieve demand on the grid. This strategy has been successful in some countries such as South Africa.

Remember to switch off power at the wall when not required. It is better to remove a plug from the wall as there is still residual current that flows when an appliance is plugged in – if millions of households were to do this the power saved would be significant. Dry washing in the sun as much as possible. Heated towel racks can be turned off for six months of the year at least! Showers use less water (and energy) than baths. Energy-saving light bulbs make sense and save cents. Computers should be switched off when not in use. Do not boil a full kettle for a cup of hot water. . . . This is not meant to be a comprehensive power saving list. Simply look at your power bill at home or at work and explore ways of saving energy and money.

Be careful with nuclear power. Although there are no emissions compared with fossil fuels it comes with high risks and the storage of radioactive nuclear waste is a time bomb. Germany has stopped the use of nuclear power because she appreciates that the consequences of an accident can be catastrophic (witness the ongoing Fukushima Daiichi plant disaster which continues to leak irradiated water into the sea). She also understands the danger of storing contaminated nuclear waste. If Germany is wary of nuclear power and the Japanese do not have the discipline to upgrade their nuclear facilities, all other countries should consider scaling down their nuclear operations and converting to safer and cleaner energy sources. It is true, however, that modern nuclear plants are better designed and safer than the outdated Fukushima plant.

Germany has also managed to reduce her CO² emissions by 20% since Kyoto, with reductions also being achieved in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Hungary (12). This shows that a green revolution is possible. A downside of Germany closing her nuclear plants though is that she has had to restart some coal-fired plants. Hopefully this is just a temporary measure.