More emissions efficiency, and bad news from China

Showing yet another positive development in the drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a Niagara winery will have its byproducts sent off to a biogas producer, who will extract methane from them rather than letting it seep out from a landfill unused. This methane (worse than carbon dioxide in causing greenhouse effects) will instead be used to produce electricity. If we applied this technique to most food and agricultural byproducts and waste we'd obtain quite a lot of energy, reducing our bills and possibly our emissions.

Sure, upon burning methane we release carbon dioxide. This time, though, it results in some useful energy production in a controlled environment, making emissions control easier.
Whichever side of the climate change debate one is on, putting waste to one last good use is always a good idea, and our wallets might thank us.

On the other hand, Chinese power plant emissions are set to rise by a mind-boggling 60% in the next ten years. So far the biggest CO2 emitters are China and the US, followed by other nations such as Russia, India, South Africa, South Korea and parts of Europe. Clearly any Canadian government effort to curb emissions will be nullified by such surges in a country such as China, which doesn't give a damn about the environment. An efficient emissions market system, created within a framework which China is a member of (UN, WTO just to mention two) could be a stimulus to consider the environment more than just a dump for their filth.

The Reuters article aptly remarks that around 100 major power generating companies account for about 57% of world CO2 emissions. This proves again one point: greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and environmental protection are not something that can be solved with catastrophic predictions, ultimatums, rallies and massive government intervention. It is a majorly economic question, and as such needs to be tackled by clear-headed professionals, engaging in constructive discussion with managers and politicians, finding a mutually satisfying compromise.

Flag-waving hippies, shouting and whining Liberals, pathetic tree-huggers and the like do the debate no good, nor do they seem to drive us towards a solution.

Although an online version does not seem to be available, I really recommend reading the essay by Dwight R. Lee "Environmental versus Political Pollution", contained in the book "The Market Economy: a Reader" by him and James Doti.