Time Enough?
A lively filmed climate change debate on the Isle of Man.
Homo-Erectus, our ancestors, first used fire over one million years ago. And we are the generation that needs to stop burning things. -anon
A lively filmed debate was had under marquee this evening. Approximately sixty people from the island turned up to the free event which started with a short film by DAM Productions. The film explained the impact of climate change, and used clips of interviews from people around the Isle of Man to great effect.
Mike (Diving Developer) was on the panel, accompanied by a local politican, an expert on biodiversity (and peatland restoration) as well as an earth scientist and a construction industry expert. And after the film, the audience and the panel (even between the panellists) commenced a lively discussion around climate change topics.
Climate change is widespread, rapid, and intensifying - IPCC
Ron, an experienced radio DJ, had his hands full as the moderator.
The discussions started on the IPCC 6th interim report and how climate change is progressing (we are on target to shoot past the 1.3C warming limit) and some of the science behind it.
The IPCC report finds that limiting global warming to 1.5°C would require “rapid and far-reaching” transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities.
We went on to discuss the audiences' experience of Active Travel, Air Source Heat Pumps, and to debate whether the island should itself capitalise on its ample wind reserves (we can see huge windfarms from the shore that belong to the UK) versus simply importing all our energy requirements through an interconnector.
It was on this topic that Mike (Diving Developer) who had been briefed by the Isle of Man Government's experts, ARUP, on possible future energy scenarios, had a strong disagreement with the Earth Scientist. The Earth Scientist believes that we could generate all our power - and export plenty too - via a 40km square windfarm. This was not a scenario option given to the Climate Change Citizens Forum, so it led to an interesting exchange!
Moving on, we discussed the topics of single-use plastic, abandoned fishing gear, recycling (reducing waste, reusing resources and recycling what remains) as well as an interesting discussion about our current biodiversity situation and potential threats and opportunities.
The current situation on the Isle of Man
We currently have a Climate Change Bill awaiting the Queen's signature.
This one:
Not this one:
We have a single electricity provider on the island, called Manx Utilities. They are currently bound (Electricity Act 1970) to provide the cheapest electricity to the consumers of the island. The current cheapest electricity is from natural gas which we burn in a big turbine. So, that Electricity Act needs to get re-drafted at the earliest opportunity before we can implement any renewables.
There is a lot more to cover, and there will be a recording of the event. As soon as the recording is available, it will be embedded here for you to watch!
Until next time, take care.
Mike (Diving Developer)
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