Over the next two weeks, the UN Climate Summit is taking place in Poznan, Poland.  The nations of the world are meeting to discuss how to prevent dangerous climate change.  This is an opportunity to push forward on the first draft of a new global agreement to address global warming.  The draft will then be debated and worked over the following 12 months before coming up for review at next years’ conference.

On the web site ItsGettingHotInHere.org, they list Five Things to Watch in Poznan.  In the post, they run down of some of the key issues and players at the climate summit.

In a Wall Street Journal blog they discuss how the current recession of the global economy is a major problem.  Due to the current economic woes, rich countries are not in a strong position to commit to specific targets for greenhouse-gas reductions.

I think this summit is a great opportunity for the world’s nations to discuss this important issue, but what about action?  Passenger Energy is an incredible opportunity to tap unused energy and reduce our carbon output.

photo credit: greenpeace.italia

Earlier this week at the Governors’ Global Climate Summit, President elect Obama talked about Global Warming and the need for clean energy.  He said we would invest $15 billion each year for the next 10 years to support alternative energy.

Time magazine states that this won’t be enough and looks at the international costs.

The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) annual World Energy Outlook, released Nov. 12, projects that global energy demand will increase by 45% between 2006 and 2030 — and that $26 trillion in power-supply investments will be necessary simply to meet those needs.

Obama’s plan for $150 billion is a step in the right direction, but more action is needed.  If you read the Time article, you know we must invest in wind and solar power, but why not Passenger Energy too?  Maybe we would not have to invest so much, if we could simply conserve more.

On Tuesday, California hosted the Governors’ Global Climate Summit.  Attendees from Europe, Asia, South and North America met to share ideas on how to combat climate change.  They discussed strategies to cut greenhouse emissions and ways to get their national governments to join the effort.

According to the press release:

“The Governors’ Summit brings together U.S. and international leaders to develop cooperative partnerships and promote collaborative actions needed to combat climate change.”

This is great to have a meeting to find ways to combat climate change.  The leaders in attendance said the problems that global warming present to the world are too big not to do everything possible to address it.  I believe that Pay4Rides is not only possible, but could be easily implemented with support from our leaders.

photo credit: kevindooley

Is the planet heating up?

Global Warming is a hotly debated topic.  Some believe that the planet is truly heating up and we are headed for a climate catastrophe.  They blame everything from raging wildfires, megadroughts and widespread flooding on temperature change.  Others say that the planet has always experienced fluctuations in temperature and we are just going through a cycle.  Either way, everyone agrees that reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a good thing.

Passenger Energy could significantly reduce the current level of emissions and result in a more stable climate.

photo credit: openDemocracy

There are many reasons to ride a bike including staying fit, avoiding traffic delays and saving money.  Best of all, bicycles are solely powered by human energy, do not require any fossil fuels and can quickly travel short distances.

Bicycle commuting allows you to include a workout in your daily schedule and improve your overall health.  While exercising you can ride right past traffic utilizing bike lanes and off-roads trails.  You can also save money by decreasing your gas and vehicle maintenance costs, plus you won’t need a membership to a gym.

Pickup trucks and cars fitted with bike carriers can provide an extra service for passengers.  To further improve this concept, we could include super light folding bikes.  The Curve SL from Dahon is a top of the line commuter bike that folds in seconds, weighs about 20 pounds and will fit into a shopping bag.

This way you could ride your bike for short distances at the begining and end of a trip, but let Pay4Rides transport you greater distances on highways.

photo credit: Svadilfari

Sources of Alternative Fuels include Hydrogen, Biofuels and Ethanol.

There is an article “A Cornfed Disaster - Bogus Biofuels” in the March 6, 2008 issue of Rolling Stone magazine that contains the following:

But two new studies show that biofuels don’t just suck up billions of dollars in federal subsidies and inflate food prices in the third world - they also speed up global warming.

According to the studies, most biofuels generate more climate-warming pollution than fossil fuels. 

There is more evidence of ethanol production driving up food prices around the world.  So while I agree, alternative fuel sources are a very good thing, they are not a magic bullet that will cure all of our problems.  The best solution is to simply drive less.

photo credit: Jeffrey Beall