Saturday, November 21, 2015

Energy 49, Malaysia's and Singapore's bright nights and nat gas power

I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last Sunday-Tuesday, for the IPRI 2015 launching + other visits arranged by IDEAS and SEANET. It was my second visit in KL this year, I was there last April for another SEANET event.

My 5+pm return MAS flight to Manila (arrival should have been 9:20pm) on Tuesday was cancelled, should be due to additional APEC security measures in Manila. I needed to go back home, so IDEAS got a new ticket for me, KL-SG-Mla via SG Air. Left KL Tuesday at 9:45pm, left SG at 12:20am, Manila by 4:30am.

So, I was able to see KL and suburbs at night from the air as I took the window seat. Again, like what I saw in Thailand last month when I arrived Bangkok at midnight (see Thailand's bright nights and nat gas power), Malaysia has a wide, huge area of well-lighted roads, houses and buildings.

This photo I got from the web, not from my camera. It shows KL center and suburbs. The dark areas are the many urban forest in KL.


The bright and well-lighted areas go beyond KL and suburbs. Stretched to other urban centers further down, to Johor and other cities bordering with Singapore.

Below, Singapore at night; again, this photo I got from the web, not from my camera. It simply captures the well-lighted city-state, from the shorelines to other sides.


I am glad that like Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore do not believe in mandatory switch to unreliable, intermittent wind and solar power made "cheaper" only because of various subsidies. They rely on the old, dependable coal and  natural gas, for their electricity needs.

In 2012, these countries and economies were dependent on the following energy sources:

Thailand: 20% coal + 70.3% nat gas + 1.5% oil = 91.8% fossil fuel.
Malaysia: 41.5% coal + 46.6% nat gas + 4.5% oil = 92.6% fossil fuel.
Singapore: 84.3% nat gas + 13% oil = 95.3% fossil fuel.

Indonesia: 48.7% coal + 23.2% nat gas + 16.7% oil = 88.6% fossil fuel.
Vietnam: 17.9% coal + 35.8% nat gas + 2.7% oil = 56.4% fossil fuel.
Philippines: 38.8% coal + 26.9% nat gas + 5.8% oil = 71.5% fossil fuel.

Hong Kong: 70.3% coal + 27.3% nat gas + 2.1% oil = 99.7% fossil fuel.
S. Korea: 44.8% coal + 20.9% nat gas + 4.0% oil = 69.7% fossil fuel.
China: 75.8% coal + 1.8% nat gas and oil = 77.6% fossil fuel.

Source: ADB, Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2015, Table 6.1

So when people say they dislike or hate fossil fuels yet also dislike or hate frequent brownouts and expensive electricity, they proudly and openly exhibit their hypocrisy and double talk.

In one fb thread of a friend, he commented that during the APEC meetings, US President Obama posed climate change (CC) as a challenge that government and business leaders must take action.

I commented that the main reason why we have electricity in M.Manila for the APEC and similar events, the reason why many people can do fb and attack "man-made" CC, is because of those power plants that run on fossil fuels.  Frequent brownouts and candles are NOT nice to "save the planet." Watch more fires because of more candles. Watch more crimes and road accidents because of dark streets.

There are many people who advocate or support the "anti-fossil fuel movement." We can assume that they have no car or motorcycle, that they do not take a jeepney or taxi or bus, does not ride an airplane -- ALL of these run on fossil fuel.

The anti-fossil fuel movement is notorious for hypocrisy and double talk. The Paris meeting in less than two weeks will have thousands of petroleum-bashing planet saviours who reach Paris via fossil fuel-fed planes and cars.

CC is natural, it is nature-made, not man-made. It is cyclical, warming-cooling-warming-cooling, endless cycle, not "unprecedented". CC is true, it happened in the past even if humans did not even ride a bicycle or invented shoes. It is happening now, and it will happen in the future.

As I told my friend in the past, climate alarmis, ss("it is man-made, period!") will never be interested in dialogues or even debates. The big ones and leaders are interested only in climate money, something like $100B a year, or $500B a year, or $5 trillion a year, take your pick. The non-big ones are interested only in spreading alarmism.

The Pope, ahh, when he came to Manila, his plane was using water, or it was being towed by hundreds of witches on flying brooms or carpets.
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