Ecological Thermodynamics

With the aid of this fellowship I would like to assemble a series of programmes on the relationship between two of the central players in climate change - impalpable and invisible gas carbon dioxide and the intangible idea of energy - a kind of environmental thermodynamics. The aim would be to use simple but often spectacular demonstrations of chemical and physical ideas in order to make more concrete the issues surrounding climate change and particularly the challenges that need to be faced. On the one hand I would hope to indicate just how much CO2 many everyday processes produce, but I would also like to illustrate some of the fundamentals concerning energy - from what it is, to how it is converted, and particularly the idea of inefficiency - how, through the concept of entropy, it is rooted in the fabric of the universe. But I would also like to show that by choosing appropriate technology it is possible to side-step these limitations.Ideally I would like this to be a stand-alone series of programmes. Alternatively, however, I would like to produce some short spots which could slot into other programming so as to raise some of these issues by stealth and help spread the discussion among an audience that would not voluntarily switch over to what might be thought of as educational programming.