Energy and climate change the importance of reaching the public

1
Energy and climate change the importance of
reaching the public

• Steven Earle
• Malaspina University-College

2
Outline
What Canadians already know about climate change
What they should know
Why we need to improve their understanding
How we might achieve that goal
based largely on my experience with University
students
3
What do Canadians already know (or think that
they know) about climate change?
4
They know that it is getting warmer
5
But they think that the magnitude of change is
insignificant
6
They know that greenhouse effect is the problem.

• But theyre not very clear about what the
  greenhouse effect is.

7
Most Canadians know that the greenhouse effect
has something to do with greenhouse gases
But they have very little idea what the
connection is, or even what a greenhouse gas is.
Many people are confused about the difference
between the greenhouse effect and stratospheric
ozone depletion.
8
Canadians are aware that not everyone (nor every
organization, nor every government) agrees that
there is a climate-change problem.

• This degree of uncertainty makes denial a little
  easier.

9
The biggest problem is that most Canadians think
that What I do is not the problem.
10
Or even if they recognize that they are part of
the problem, they will argue that A change in
my behaviour wont make any difference anyway.

• This widely held belief makes denial a lot easier.

11
Canadians produced 546,000,000 tonnes of CO2 in
2003.
Each of us produced a seemingly
insignificant0.0000032 of that total.
Statistics Canada
12
18.3 tonnes of CO2 per Canadian
We consumed 37,000,000,000 L of automobile fuel
in 2001, or about 1233 L/person (24 L/week),
resulting in emissions of 2.95 tonnes of CO2 per
person. If each of us could cut our
transportation CO2 budget in half (by using a
smaller vehicle, driving less, biking, walking or
using public transit) we could lower our total
emissions by 8, and we would all be fitter and
would have better air to breath.
World Resources Institute
13
My experience is that personal decisions that
involve energy use are based on

• 1) cost
• 2) convenience and comfort
• 3) fashion and prestige
• 4) the local environment (pollution)
• 5) the global environment (climate change)

14
What most people dont know (and should know)
about climate change.
15
Canadians need to know about some of the
consequences of climate change.

• It is getting warmer and ice is melting
• Sea-level is rising
• The weather is becoming more extreme
• Its going to cost us a lot!

16
Ice is melting
Source NASA, 2003
Minimum Arctic sea ice 1979
17
Minimum Arctic sea ice 2003
Source NASA, 2003
18
Canadians need to know where greenhouse gases
come from.
Otherwise they will never feel any responsibility
for the problem.
19
(No Transcript)
20
(No Transcript)
21
Canadians need to recognize that, in the long
run, the global effects of climate change are far
more significant than the local effects of
pollution.
Alas, very few people consider issues over the
long term.
22
Sumas 2 gas-fired generator
23
Virtually all of the discussion around this
project has been about local air quality. Almost
nothing has been said about the green-house gas
production.The same is true for a proposed
gas-fired plant in Nanaimo.
24
From Sahay, Krishna KSahay_at_NRCan.gc.caSent
Tuesday, February 17, 2004 954 AMTo Steve
EarleSubject West Coast Oil and Gas Drilling
Moratorium - File D04-55946Dear Dr. EarleOn
behalf of the Honourable R. John Efford, Minister
of Natural Resources Canada, I would like to
thank you for your correspondence of February 13,
2004, concerning the federal review process, the
conclusions of which will be used to inform a
decision on whether or not to lift the moratorium
on oil and gas activities for selected areas
offshore British Columbia ...The Government of
Canada and Natural Resources Canada are committed
to balancing environmental, social and economic
needs when considering the development of our
resources. The ultimate decision ...Yours
sincerely,Krishna SahayDirector
GeneralPetroleum Resources BranchNatural
Resources Canada
This letter goes on for two pages about First
Nations, environmental, social and economic
issues, but does not contain a single word about
the greenhouse gas implications of B.C. offshore
oil and gas. The stone age did not end for lack
of stones!
25
Canadians need to understand the implications of
their driving habits
26
Fuel consumption (city) of some popular vehicles
Toyota Prius (hybrid) 4.5 L/100 km
Honda Civic 7.5
Honda CRV 10.9
Ford Explorer 15.5
Cadillac Escalade 18.1
GMC Yukon Denali 19.5
Source Office of Energy Efficiency, NRCAN
27
The Prius is pricey at around 30,000, but the
Explorer is about 45,000, and the Yukon Denali
is over 65,000!Lots of people think that they
cant afford one of those expensive hybrids, but
theyll happily shell out a whole lot more to
have a smart-looking SUV in their driveway!
28
It is critical for Canadians to understand how
carbon is cycled
29
AgainCanadians need to be convinced that every
single person can make a difference

• Every one of us in the industrialized world is
  partly responsible for the current situation
• Every one of us can take steps to reduce our
  greenhouse gas contribution

30
Who do we need to reach?

• The public
• Teachers
• Bureaucrats (institutional, civic, provincial,
  national)
• Politicians
• Engineers, architects, technicians

31
What if we dont bother?

• Well be left talking to ourselves
• Until we can increase the public level of
  understanding of the issues around climate change
  we are unlikely to realize the potential for
  acceptance of renewable energy technologies

32
Is it our job?
I think so nobody else is actively trying to
reach the public on this issue, and no
organization is better placed to do it than the
ACCC.
33
How can we get the message out?

• Haul them in by the collar and lecture to them!
• Advertise on television and radio!

34

• Get them interested by showing them that theyll
  save money, and then sneak in a message about
  climate change.
• Make a very compelling video and/or computer
  presentation that really gets their attention.

35

• Get our message into the schools

Videos
School visits
NRCAN climate-change posters
36

• Steven Earle
• Geology Department
• Malaspina University-College
• Nanaimo, B.C.
• earles_at_mala.bc.ca