CO₂-Emission and the responsibility for the reduction

International discussion over the duties of individual countries respecting the CO₂-Emissions decrease threatens to fail because of the fact, that no plausible criterion has been established to fathom about these duties. The states like China, India and similar, although they deliver the biggest contributions respecting CO₂-emission don't see the necessity to engage itself more into this sense, since their contributions per head of the inhabitants are far lower than in the abundant states.

The following table could deliver more clarity into this sense. The countries were sized according to the CO₂-emission necessary to obtain 1 USD of the Gross Domestic Products. It turned out that the utilization of the nature, for the purpose of the production of the goods and last end of the standard of the citizens, is very different and in the mentioned countries it has to be done even more in this sense. To interesting manner, the USA, otherwise the biggest polluter, deliver only the mediocrity in this respect. The further discussion of the table is left to the reader. However, according to my opinion, the range order in this table is les surprising.

Renewable energies

• Our current fossil energy sources are not only dirty but also limited. Even the present-day nuclear power stations, which are based at the fission, are large environmental contaminant, if one takes into account that only 0.7% from the courtly love of weeded out uranium is utilized into the electricity production and the rest remains as high-radioactive waste, many times more active than the original material. These waste can only be durably accommodated in a subterranean end bearing after an decline time of approximately 45 years, as their radiation power and heat-output were so far reduced. It appears also not more pleasant if these "waste", instead of stored, could be partly used for the production of nuclear bombs.

• Because of this, our future depends exclusively from the renewable energies. Origin of this energy is the kern-fusion that happens in the sun. Maybe, it becomes possibly to realize similar reaction also on the earth.

Future of power supply

Opting out from nuclear energy

Current very wasteful method of the uranium utilization, with which less than 1 percent of the available energy mass is used for the heat production, is surely not usable solution for the power supply of our future. Existing nuclear power station, that are based on the fission are relatively biggest nature pollutants if one takes into account that they use only 0.7% of the uranium sorted out from the mine for the steam production and the rest throw off as high-radioactive waste, many times more active than the original material. While the "non-burned" fuel rods are only slightly radioactive and may be handled without special shielding, spent fuel is very hotly and extremely radioactive, requiring remote handling and shielding. These so named "waste" can only be durably stored in a subterranean end bearing after a wear of time of approximately 45 years, as the heat-performance is so far reduced. There, they must remain isolated from the environment for thousands of years. It doesn't sound more kindly if these "waste" instead of stored becomes used to the production of atomic bombs.

To a large extent promised "absolute" security of the nuclear power plants relativizes itself if one considers that the radio toxicity of the „by-product " Plutonium-239 is 3.4x10E11 times that of uranium-238. Therefore, only 200 milligrams of Plutonium-239 is necessary to released into the biosphere to generate about the same radio toxicity like the entire in one year spent quantity of approximately 68000 tons uranium, if this is scattered completely into the atmosphere.

Also with the uranium reserves is not much better than with other fuels and the prices are in the upswing. Until now only somewhat a half of the year world-wide demand at uranium was covered by the current uranium production. The other half has already been covered for many years by secondary sources - dissolution of reserves at nature and enriched uranium from the disarmament of atomic weapons. Subsequently the uranium-price lay in the last both decades so low and the impression originated that the supplies at uranium are infinite. However, they are not even enough for a half century.

Energy and our existence

During the past approximately 200 years our western world has changed from predominant agrarian societies, fuelled by wood and horses, into the modern industry states powered by thousands power plants and millions tons of oil each day. Through all this change, we were barely aware of the meaning of the energy for our welfare, prosperity and sustainability. The energy brings everything in our order, starting from general concepts, like light, electricity, heat and kinetic energy over their sources, like sun, oil, gas, coals, gases, wind, hydro -, wood and food up to the physical concepts, like gravity, chemical, nuclear etc.. With the word energy we describe even that something we today eat (energy food or drinks), and how we feel (to have lots of energy or to feel itself spent).

On the economic side, the energy is the largest industry on the planet with the sales of three trillions Euros annually, what is almost two times larger than the turnover of the food-processing industry.

But the energy has become also our big worry. The OPEC-embargo of the 1970s caused a major recession of the world economy and the accidents, like Three Mile Iceland and Chernobyl, has shown the extreme risk posed by the human errors in management of highly energy complex facilities. The blackouts in Europe and America have demonstrated how fragile are our electricity grids and how by the cancellations in the supply our whole existence can be lamb-put. Constantly rising prices in the supply through the steam, gas, fuels and the growing security of, through exactly the current type and the sources of the energy utilisation, unavoidable climate-changes has evoked the questions whether we must not pay that everything very dearly.

Solutions for the future

Our energetic system can be divided in two areas, with comparatively little influence on each other until now, whatever means that their development was independent:

• System that provides electric power, heat, gas and similar. The sources of energy reach from the classics as coal, gas and hydro - up to the modern nuclear and renewable energies.

• Transportation system which runs almost entirely on oil-based products, which are dependent on the import.

Clear, that the two systems are fundamentally different in character and therefore the possible solutions are also very different. Independently from it, the essential corner points for a modern and future certain power supply in an industrial political economy are: renewable energies, energy efficiency and energy saving. Especially the last two are belonging together for the two systems although the relevant solutions are different

The most modern technologies are asked in the two systems. For the power supply - renewable energies, high efficient coal or gas power station and in the future also carbon dioxide free gas and hard coal fired power stations. Thus, huge advances are still possible also with the use of coal. Opposites only 35 percent at nuclear power plants, the modern gas and steam power stations bring up an efficiency of 58 percent.

I could participate with the first large German project in the renewable energies areas, as for example GAST (GAs cooled Solar Tower), GROWIAN and WKA-60. Especially at the case of wind plants this has led to an amazing development.

Germany produces today three times more electricity than USA by the wind plants, although the wind resources are les than the one from North Dakota alone.

In 2005, through the installed capacity of approximately 18.500 MW the wind energy could already cover five percent of the gross electricity consumption. The rapid technological development gave the German manufacturers the leadership on the world market - over 50 percent of all wind power plants and their prefabricated parts world wide come from Germany. The export of the wind power technology makes approximately 60 percent of the approximately five billions Euro heavy total turnover and secures with it approximately 64.000 jobs of the industrial sector in Germany.

In transportation area, the problems are particularly emphasized in the way, that the stocks in oil are more strongly restricted. We are approaching to the so-called Peak of oil production, after it the critical period of continuous reduction, despite climbs increase in the fuel demand, starts.

However, this simple consideration of the "Peak" is not appropriate. From the climate and economic point of view, a reduction of the oil consumption would be only of the advantage, because with it the CO2 output into the atmosphere would be simultaneously reduced and the protection of the still remained reserves in oil reached. Therefore, the time after the Peak is less critical as the time before with continually climbing consumption and its adverse impact. We are advised very well to bring this Peak behind us so quickly as possible.

The technical possibilities of the improvements in the transportation on the street to reduce the fuel consumption and corresponding emissions are longs known: better motor combustion, hybrid vehicles that combines combustion engines with electric motors and the bio fuels, like ethanol and bio diesel.

At the same time the hybrid variant makes possible an even more better combustion in engine, because the engine is in the especially unfavourable areas of start up and acceleration replaced through the, in these areas, more effective electric motor and can be in this way more easily optimized. In addition, the hybrid-vehicles make possible the utilization of the lost energy during brake. The savings in the fuel consumption can compensate for higher price of such vehicles.

Actually it is not at all necessary to shift the solution of such problems on expenses of the consumers. The consumer is in the situation a lot to do, not only to protect climate but also his purse. Here are some examples:

• Walk, with the bicycle instead to drive everywhere with the car, saves approximately 200 grams CO₂ for each kilometre.

• Regular tyre pressure check: The consumption can be reduced by about 3%. Any saved litre of fuel means 2 kilograms less CO₂ into the atmosphere.

• To heat water uses energy. Usually it is enough if water is lukewarm and not hot and your temperature control should not be adjusted above 55 °C to prevent lime deposition.

• If you reduce your heater for only 1 °C you will save one ton CO₂  every year

• Exchange of only one light bulb through savings lamp will save up to 80 kg CO₂ in the year.

• Purchase ware with less packaging that anyway lands on garbage.

• Plant a tree in your garden (or somewhere else) that will absorb one ton of CO₂ in its life.

• Forget, that there is standby at your TV, DVD Player, stereo and PC. They are there only to hold your electricity bill at the level.

Future concepts

Our energy policy for this century should focus on three goals: abundant and affordable sources of energy, economic prosperity and general improvement in the environment-quality. That this must not, at the same time, mean a restriction of the person latitude und/or tutelage of the citizen through state regulations, shows the next picture with the car of the future – an hybrid vehicle with fuel cell and electric motor, that is fuelled up with hydrogen during the night in your own garage by own installation, that provides also whole house with electricity.

Re-entry in the nuclear energy ?

The fact, that our future depends exclusively on the renewable energies, is not put by it in question. In the opposite, origin of this energy is the kern-fusion that happens in the sun. Maybe, it becomes possibly to realize similar reaction also on the earth. The fusion research is very near to reach this goal.

The advance of the fusion research can be best measured by the fusion product nT that is applied here against the plasma temperature T (If T is measured in energy-units, than corresponds 1 keVs to 11,6 million Kelvin). The area of the ignition (Zindung) in the picture corresponds to the continuous function of the facility.