Cold Coal

My thoughts on coal has never been so enthusiastic untill I read a book, Coal: A Human History by Barbara Freese. She opened my eye and affirmed how human history has evolved and accelerated based upon coal. Indeed she confessed it is all sad, dirty truth. Like she wrote, a few nations like Britain in the world is trying to move to clean energy development which will be free of coal and its dirty impacts on the environment and human, but the world still runs on coal for cheap and rather easier technology.

Further I wanted to take a chance of dirty city of USA, Pittsburgh for discovering what the coal is for our life. A Tour-Ed Mine is a great place to learn about coal mining. It functions as an educational place, but it truly introduces me the coal mining. Their website can tell all about 200 years old coal mine and its history inside it. With their life experience, Bob and Rich explained a decent brief about coal history and its use in USA, and technological development with health, safety, human right, labour, money and mechanical issues.

While taking the tour through tiny corridors under the earth, I really felt coldness, darkness and danger into my bones down there. How long shall we burn this fuel for warth and illumination?

Green Creation

Colourful plants of tropics, butterflies, sound of air and water, these all are created wonderfully at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh. Colour glass pieces of art indeed adds awe to the garden.

Whole building itself is splendour, running entirely renewables with computer controlled. Air and water are designed to circulated well and beautifully on all parts of garden.

I appreciate their purpose to let people understand and love the parts of whole world and a variety of species. All sorts of tropical plants really remind of Hawai'i, in fact they are conservatory display of Thailand, so this garden makes me to visit Thailand soon:) Visit their website, there all information is available for education purposes about botany and conservation.

Among all, my favourite flower is Busy Liziie, impatiens which features light pink with white, looking like a tiny roses.

Energy Saving Trust

While hunting jobs, much interesting news unfolded for my inspiration of energy saving.

An advertised role at Energy Saving Trust seemed very suitable for me. I generated my CV and wrote my covering letter, then I sent them silently wishing my luck. Fortunately I was invited for stages of interviews. First I made presentation and questioned. Success shined on me so that I was invited for the second interview for which I produced a report.

Utmost I came to know more about Energy Saving Trust, UK non=profit for reducing carbons in UK. Their activities are all simply designed to help communities and people to reduce their carbons. Loads of useful information and advice are posted online. Even their help-lines are staffed with enthusiastic experts.

This website becomes my favourite online stop for practical advice.

Energy Efficiency Projects and Funding

Not only CDM, International banks are very keen to invest in projects that aim to reduce energy intensity and improve energy efficiency. UNECE brought both investors and receiving projects together under a conference. It named under Seminar on Financing Energy Efficiency Investments and the European Clean Energy Fund.
Many projects take place in various countries. Main categories of their business include Company, NGO, ESCO. More definite information is their web site. Here I present the main funding organizations. Check their web-site to have specific information.

SwissRe Clean Energy and Climate Change Mitigation Investment Funds
The European Clean Energy Fund
Renaissance Finance International
the European Bank
UNEP Finance Initiative

Sir Nicholas Talk on Climate Change and My Reflection Over Coal and Mongolia

On 29^th of November, 2007, the Climate Change, Ethics and the Economics of the Global Deal by Sir Nicholas Stern was one of the many presented at Manchester campus, but truly distinguished from the rest.

In Withworth Hall at the University of Manchester, the audience consisted from many educational institutions in Manchester, UK. A highly remarkable introduction about Sir Stern brought me a great admire for him. I was thankful for my MESPOM friends John, Elad and, particularly Liming who gave me a chance not to miss this opportunity.

Sir Stern began his speech with genuine briefing on his work and slight a warm-up joke. He described Climate Change economics through stock and flow analysis focused on the risks humankind facing around the globe. His arguments were backed up with ICCP reports and economic modeling he used in his report.

Main message of this speech centered on the risk of climate change to humans and political economic instruments to mitigate those adverse effects. He valued great effort of human commitment and stressed more needs to strengthen and achieve those commitments trough cost effective mitigation tools. Knowledge foundation for all actions is based on economics as Sir Stern noted.

I was fortunate to enjoy fully comprehending his arguments and thankful for my educational background, which I am gaining from MESPOM. Meanwhile, I was tempted to relate climate change issue to my country Mongolia.

As Sir Stern highly warned increasing use of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, for major developing countries, it opens a controversial discussion of coal between economic development and climate change. Besides skeptics view of no energy substitute to coal, natural resource management of extracting and exporting coal to global market is a priority in Mongolia today, such as Tavan Tolgoi project. In beginning period of losing its unexploited abundant natural resources, Mongolia seriously considers opening the coal bundled political game for coal ravenous neighbors and rapacious multinational corporations.

From side of saving the planet from ‘unequivocal’ heat-up, the coal favored policy seems to undermine entire human efforts to cut CO2 emissions. However, Mongolian economy, which has been suffered from systematic changes, does not act to be ‘anti-human’. Neither do the coal-lovers. What is missing is substitute policy options for coal that supports whole economic development and Energy in Mongolia. But, there always be alternatives to aid energy need and economic progress, the key is to find it!

Here emerges a missing gap in climate change policies for poor economies. Although the most of the adverse effects from global climate change threaten poor nations in coming days, there has been a huge lack of facilitation for climate change mitigation among leaders and societies in those societies. Promising is that more and more policy tools are emerging such as Clean Development Mechanism and Green Investment etc.

See more on Sir Nicholas Stern on the following site:

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/sternreview_index.cfm