21 Environmental Fallacies

Fallacy 21: Planting trees will help offset human carbon emissions

There are many reasons why planting trees is a good idea, but don't be deluded by the proposition that it will help address the challenge of global warming. Apart from the fact that it takes about 20 years before trees become effective at capturing atmospheric carbon, a bit of basic research shows that there is insufficient land available to plant the number of trees required to counteract CO2 emissions. (We run out of land after 187 days). This episode explains why we need to rethink assumptions that planting trees will offset human carbon emissions.

Fallacy 20: Natural Processes influence the climate, and we must not overreact

The 'Climategate' controversy started in 2009 when a whistleblower discovered that a scientist had manipulated data relating to changes in global temperature. An alternative interpretation of the incident is that hackers stole emails from The Climate Research Unit to throw doubt on climate data. The key point about this event is not so much that vested interests will seek to promote their agenda, but that the media seemed more interested in dramatic headlines than understanding the facts. In this podcast, we discuss Climategate and how public perceptions can be manipulated by misrepresenting scientific evidence.

Fallacy 19: Geoengineering could reduce the impact of global warming

Various governments are investigating geoengineering as a possible option to mitigate the impact of global warming. In this podcast, we assess the risks of geoengineering and consider the dangers of unintended consequences. Some of the proposals are so bizarre that they would seem better suited to the pages of a comic magazine. However, we need to be wary of discounting an idea simply because it seems fanciful. Perhaps human ingenuity can manipulate the forces of nature?

Fallacy 18: Biofuels provide clean and renewable energy

In this podcast, we struggle to understand the logic of converting natural environments to monocultures or the rationale for cutting down vast areas of forest. We question the reasons for using bioethanol when the energy required to produce one litre of fuel is less than the energy it generates. And why does the UN categorise biofuels as clean, green, renewable energy when they produce CO2 emissions that are comparable to burning fossil fuels? This is just one more in the list of 21 Popular Environmental Fallacies.

Fallacy 17: Electric vehicles are a sustainable solution to road transport

The commitment by international governments to transition to electric vehicles is one of the success stories in the fight against climate change. However, the switch to electric vehicles brings its own set of problems, including constraints on critical materials, the urgent need to increase electrical generating capacity using genuinely green energy and the social, political and environmental consequences of poorly regulated mining activities. This podcast episode explains why the transition to electric vehicles could have a multitude of unintended consequences.