Global Warming

[opothai]

now is the time to act

so the politicians say.

the uk to get yet more green taxes to start the great turn around.

but india and china number 2 and three in the big polution stakes say the west started it so why should they now stop polluting and producing to conform with the wests wishes.

the number 1 in the pollution stakes is the good old us of a, and they are just keeping quiete.

not entirely thai related but thailand does add pollution as do the rest of the world.

is thailand doing any thing to combat this ever groing problem.

in fact what country is leading the way in green issues, and do you think it is as desperate as the politicians are telling us.

[AlexLah]

Europe is doing its best by for example changing users of solvent born paint to water born.

Reducing that emission by 70%.

[fruittbatt]

the number 1 in the pollution stakes is the good old us of a, and they are just keeping quiete.

Until the USA and Australia sign the Kyoto agreement, nothing will change.

On the parochial front, the mega-floral event in ChiangMai, to be held over 3 months, is raising environmental concerns. The problem is the run-off of fertilizers and pesticides into waterways as a result of mass-cultivation of flowers for displays. How ironic!

Edited October 30, 2006 by fruittbatt

[Buckwheat]

now is the time to act

so the politicians say.

the uk to get yet more green taxes to start the great turn around.

but india and china number 2 and three in the big polution stakes say the west started it so why should they now stop polluting and producing to conform with the wests wishes.

the number 1 in the pollution stakes is the good old us of a, and they are just keeping quiete.

not entirely thai related but thailand does add pollution as do the rest of the world.

is thailand doing any thing to combat this ever groing problem.

in fact what country is leading the way in green issues, and do you think it is as desperate as the politicians are telling us.

Can you please cite the source of your information?

I can't seem to find a list anywhere.

Thanks

[bkkmadness]

Watched that 'An Inconvenient Truth' the other night, good stuff. I can't believe that Australia and the US haven't got round to signing the Kyoto yet. I can't imagine the US doing much about it at anytime soon, saving the enviroment is not as profitable as war so it seems.

[Maizefarmer]

BBC world service this evening was harping on about a report titled the Stone Report - which has just been published in the UK.

It makes a clear case that the consequences of global warming are going to cost the world dearly and that something needs to be done not tomorrow or next week but NOW.

Blair says it is the most siginifcant report he has been given throughout his premiership (oh yer..).

Green taxes will feature more and more in the Uk budget - and they will feature big time. The average man in the street is going to start feeling it every day. Not only will fuel taxes go up, but things like light bulbs that are inefficient will be taxed more and more.

As for Thailand? We have that giant of an economy rising right next door called China.

China is building coal fired power stations at the rate of about one every week.

China by its self will undo the rest of the worlds efforts to reduce greenhouse gas production if it does not start putting in place measures to reduce its greenhouse gas production.

The intital indications from China are not encouraging.

Academics feel that Thailand can do all it wants internaly to reduce greenhouse gas production, but unless China does it's bit as well, whatever is done here will be undone by China's development over the next 10 -20 years.

The next biggest upcoming greenhouse gas producer (ignoring the USA -whcih China is anticipated to overtake in a few years time) is India - who along with China, is doing far less than it should or could. And Thailand sits bang in the middle.

Thailands farming industry is like it is horribly inefficient, and it's now heading for major climatic changes over which it will have little or no control over in the next 10-15-20 years. What then - poeverty will be even worse and when you consider that 48% of the country derives its income from agricultutral production that is a large slice of the voting cake.

What point is it taxing Europeans to the hilt to reduce their greenhouse gas production if the Asian countries are going to undo those efforts in any case?

Tim

[opothai]

now is the time to act

so the politicians say.

the uk to get yet more green taxes to start the great turn around.

but india and china number 2 and three in the big polution stakes say the west started it so why should they now stop polluting and producing to conform with the wests wishes.

the number 1 in the pollution stakes is the good old us of a, and they are just keeping quiete.

not entirely thai related but thailand does add pollution as do the rest of the world.

is thailand doing any thing to combat this ever groing problem.

in fact what country is leading the way in green issues, and do you think it is as desperate as the politicians are telling us.

Can you please cite the source of your information?

I can't seem to find a list anywhere.

Thanks

bbc news.

reporting on the Stern report.

maizefarmer

what you say is correct

these are the arguments that will upset a lot of people from a lot of different countries,

the chinese doing very little as with india, america etc etc.

so the issue arises, why should some countries get taxed and try hard to confront the problem, when other countries compound the problem.

[fruittbatt]

BBC world service this evening was harping on about a report titled the Stone Report - which has just been published in the UK.

It makes a clear case that the consequences of global warming are going to cost the world dearly and that something needs to be done not tomorrow or next week but NOW.

Blair says it is the most siginifcant report he has been given throughout his premiership (oh yer..).

Green taxes will feature more and more in the Uk budget - and they will feature big time. The average man in the street is going to start feeling it every day. Not only will fuel taxes go up, but things like light bulbs that are inefficient will be taxed more and more.

As for Thailand? We have that giant of an economy rising right next door called China.

China is building coal fired power stations at the rate of about one every week.

China by its self will undo the rest of the worlds efforts to reduce greenhouse gas production if it does not start putting in place measures to reduce its greenhouse gas production.

The intital indications from China are not encouraging.

Academics feel that Thailand can do all it wants internaly to reduce greenhouse gas production, but unless China does it's bit as well, whatever is done here will be undone by China's development over the next 10 -20 years.

The next biggest upcoming greenhouse gas producer (ignoring the USA -whcih China is anticipated to overtake in a few years time) is India - who along with China, is doing far less than it should or could. And Thailand sits bang in the middle.

Thailands farming industry is like it is horribly inefficient, and it's now heading for major climatic changes over which it will have little or no control over in the next 10-15-20 years. What then - poeverty will be even worse and when you consider that 48% of the country derives its income from agricultutral production that is a large slice of the voting cake.

What point is it taxing Europeans to the hilt to reduce their greenhouse gas production if the Asian countries are going to undo those efforts in any case?

Tim

Excellent analysis. Thanks, Tim. Thailand's position is unenviable, and the "doomsday scenario" you have outlined is grim indeed for the Kingdom. There is also the probability of southern Thailand being "cut in half" by rising sea levels....

Edited October 30, 2006 by fruittbatt

[Upcountry]

If you have a Thai spouse, it would be good to encourage her/him to write a letter to the powers that be and encourage them to make changes.

It still suprises me that hybrid cars are taxed nearly out of existence here. And that's just one example of not-on-the-spot policies that need to be reconsidered.

[nostrel]

all seems a waste of time as India and China will be ramping up their pollution ,US will do nothing.

as for the Thais they will go on polluting as usual . B&Q are said to be selling wind turbine generators and solar panels .

[lannarebirth]

It seems to be the nature of societies that they wait till things are "on the brink" before any meaningful change takes place. That said, it was only 30 years ago that we were being warned about the "coming ice age". The US is probably 10-15 years away from converting natural gas fueled power plants to hydrogen, with negligible emissions. Technology like this is a little nearer on the horizon:

http://www.nanosolar.com/

[rocky]

all seems a waste of time as India and China will be ramping up their pollution ,US will do nothing.

as for the Thais they will go on polluting as usual . B&Q are said to be selling wind turbine generators and solar panels .

Far from a waste of time, some one has to make the first step to lead the way. If every one waits for some one else to make the first step, It would never be made. Any changes however small are a good step forward.

[Maizefarmer]

For those who read my comments on the subject - I speak not as an expert but as a farmer in the North East of Thailand - running a very productive and profitable dairy farm - and I am seeing and feeling the changes to the climate - in particular with respect to the weather patterns.

While ultimate rainfall has not changed much, what has changed significantly - and this current wet season was a prime example - is that instead of the rain been spread out so to speak over the season, it came down in gallons at a time over very short periods of time, then a dry spell to be be followed by another deluge - doing immense damage to crops.

We in the West (and by that I mean Europeans living western lifestyles) are isolated from the "first order" effects of excess greenhouse gas on the climate.

To the rural folk in Isaan - and elsewhere in the world - who are the least responsible, we are guilty of a tragedy.

It reminds me of the coco industry in West Africa. EU trade rules permitt Ghana and other West African countries to sell raw coco to Europe - but we deliberately freeze them out of the profitable side of it - they are not allowed to sell processed coco and/or chocolate to Europe. Oh no, the profitable side of coco (i.e. the processed products) by EU law have to be manufactured in the EU!

Disgraceful, and we have the cheek to blow our trumpet to the world about the amount of aid we give those countries.

It's blatent and gross lie - the truth of the matter is that it is cheaper to support those countries through aid programmees than it is to give them free and unfettered access to the lucrative EU market.

Our trade laws are designed deliberately to freeze them out so they cannot compete against our artificiaily EU subsidised agricultural industry and farming sector - so much so that it is actually cheaper for the EU to run "aid programmes" than it is to allow them access to the EU market.

What a disgrace! - an dhten when the efects of greenhous gases are so bad that their ag industry is destroyed, we will then open the door to them to sell soemthing they want be able to produce because we have stuffed up the climate!

Hipocracy at it's finest.

Tim

[opothai]

It seems to be the nature of societies that they wait till things are "on the brink" before any meaningful change takes place. That said, it was only 30 years ago that we were being warned about the "coming ice age". The US is probably 10-15 years away from converting natural gas fueled power plants to hydrogen, with negligible emissions. Technology like this is a little nearer on the horizon:

http://www.nanosolar.com/

with this type of technology, you can have every household producing green energy, as we are getting taxed at the moment for carbon energy, will the government give incentives for people to take up this technology.

the only problem i see is the governments will not generate taxes from this

as with a couple of our company vans we had converted to gas and the only emmissions are h2o,

in the uk it is hard to find outlets, why is that i wonder.

but all the same an excellent find lannarbirth

[Maizefarmer]

AS a side line to the farming run an engineering business, that besides maintaing farm equipment, I build widn turbines ( up to 12 kilowatts)

Yes - wind and sun are both viable energy sources, and the usage will I think become more and more prevalant in years to come - if not because of greenhouse gases, but because of the sheer cost of energy.

What I have never been able to grasp is why Thailand taxes the importation of solar panels and wind turbines?

This country has a close to perfect climate for solar panels and solar energy - yet, so little is done at a national or government level to promote its usage.

Solar energy can produce about 80% of this nations domestic energy requirment (by domestic I mean home requirement) but there is zero financial incentive to install and use it - and above all, the bizarrest thing about it - is that then ###### fiscal policy is one that levies a substantial import duty on solar panels.

What on earth for?

Makes no enviromental sense at all - makes no sense.

Tim

[lannarebirth]

What I have never been able to grasp is why Thailand taxes the importation of solar panels and wind turbines?

This country has a close to perfect climate for solar panels and solar energy - yet, so little is done at a national or government level to promote its usage.

Solar energy can produce about 80% of this nations domestic energy requirment (by domestic I mean home requirement) but there is zero financial incentive to install and use it - and above all, the bizarrest thing about it - is that then ###### fiscal policy is one that levies a substantial import duty on solar panels.

What on earth for?

Makes no enviromental sense at all - makes no sense.

Tim

Here's why the tariff Tim:

http://www.solartron.co.th/Newer/home.aspx

[Maizefarmer]

There you go - what can I say.

Ridiculous!

Tim