| > | | | | Some even argue for the benefits of global warming, |
| At first glance it’s hard to imagine how the | | | | which include for example the opening up of new |
| proliferation of human activity upon the environment | | | | shipping lanes in the artic as the ice recedes, new oil |
| has been a major factor in climate change given that | | | | drilling opportunities and longer harvest periods in |
| climate change alone is nothing new. Over two million | | | | Canada and Russia. |
| years the earth’s history has seen enormous | | | | It seems climate change is inevitable and the small |
| changes. Indeed, in the last ten thousand years the | | | | economic ideas such as banning coal subsidies bear |
| warming and cooling of the earth has been on a | | | | little fruit as a means of curbing the problem. More |
| larger scale that what we see today. | | | | than ever, political will must be demonstrated at first |
| The climate is however very changeable these days. | | | | to show to industry and populations that it is even an |
| Getting the politics right has been half the fight. | | | | issue. More importantly perhaps, the will of the |
| Unfortunately, the right policy has been held at bay | | | | politicians must be met with achievable methods from |
| partially by having the right knowledge of | | | | the technological and scientific community. |
| what’s happening to the climate. The climate | | | | Professor Socolow is leading the way with what he |
| changes we see today are the result of only a | | | | calls stabilisation wedges. On a graph of |
| century and a half of study, peanuts in comparison | | | | climate change, the space between the trend line and |
| the huge shifts over the earths history. | | | | the stability line is known as the stabilisation |
| The recent UN Climate Change Conference sought to | | | | triangle’. By dividing these triangles into |
| put in place a policy to take over the Kyoto protocol. | | | | wedges and assigning realistic goals to each wedge |
| At its core were some recently publicised results: | | | | the massive problem is given a usable and effective |
| 1. The warming trend on the earth’s surface | | | | solution. |
| has been taking place since the early part of the | | | | The goals to assign to the wedges range from |
| twentieth century. The last ten years have been the | | | | greater overall efficiencies, the decarbonisation of |
| warmest of that millennium. 2. There have been rapid | | | | electricity, fuel displacement by low carbon electricity, |
| signs of melting the Arctic circle. The sea ice there | | | | methane management, and natural carbon sinks. By |
| has fallen by around eight percent over thirty years. | | | | further subdividing each wedge into sub wedges, |
| 3. The old inconsistency in the data between the | | | | such as decarbonised electricity being subdivided into |
| temperature rise in the atmosphere and on the | | | | nuclear power, renewable energy, natural gas as an |
| planets surface seems to have levelled out. They | | | | alternative to coal, and the storage of carbon dioxide |
| appear to rise in parallel. | | | | — these problems are confounded into what |
| 4. The Scripps Institute of Oceanography in California | | | | everyone has been looking for. A short list of |
| noted that the ocean has been warming at different | | | | solutions that together will balance the problem. |
| depths for over 65 years. These results match the | | | | It seems the technology for all this exists. It is |
| predictions that warming has been induced more by | | | | merely in need of refinement. For example the |
| greenhouse gases that as a result of small changes in | | | | management of carbon dioxide from the burning of |
| the suns heat output. | | | | fossil fuels could be dealt with through further carbon |
| 5. There has been an observed and recorded link | | | | sequestration. A couple of power plants already |
| between the sea surface temperature and the | | | | employ this particular technique to good effect. The |
| frequency and intensity of tropical storms, typhoons | | | | carbon dioxide is extracted at the source and is |
| and hurricanes. | | | | injected into porous rocks deep underground to |
| 6. The existing computer models of the change in | | | | prevent it escaping into the atmosphere. |
| ocean currents, in particular in the North Atlantic, are | | | | Steam reformation is another technique. It is, in |
| correct. | | | | essence, a pre-emptive technique that reacts the |
| There are however still some unknowns. For example | | | | fuel used with water to yield hydrogen. The |
| the solar hypothesis is now known to be a lesser | | | | hydrogen output is burnt to create electricity. |
| contributor, the miniscule changes in the suns heat | | | | Of all the possibilities of reworking and inventing |
| output over its eleven year sunspot cycle is adding | | | | technologies, perhaps the best idea is the oldest idea. |
| to the mix. Also, the aerosol emissions from | | | | Replanting programmes. The idea of photosynthesis |
| sulphurous fuel promote the formation of clouds, and | | | | to combine carbon dioxide with water and sunlight is |
| as a consequence the sunlight reflected from the | | | | a relatively cheap and exponential idea and would be |
| earths surface increases, effectively opposing the | | | | hugely effective. |
| greenhouse gas effect. | | | | |