First things
first, Climate change is a real and most important thing. There's scientific
consensus on this issue as well as the fact that humans are contributing to
climate change in a significant way. We might all wish it were otherwise, but
that's not reality. So what's to be done.
The International
Institute for applied Systems Analysis looked into the matter. Scientists found
that with some significant effort we could reach zero net Anthropogenic Emissions
by 2040.
By emissions
they mostly mean Carbon and the way we do it is through two main efforts.
First, we
would need to cut way back on fossil fuel use. The Institute studies showed
that we need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels to less than 25 percent
of our global energy supply by 2100.
Right now
fossil fuels normally account for 95 percent of our energy supply, we've got a
long way to go. Alternatives to fossil fuels are tricky, fossil fuels are dense
with energy and we've built massive infrastructures that exploit this trait.
We've
also designed enormous corporations that are in the business of Harvesting, Refining Transporting or selling fossil fuels. It's big business and it's been
around for more than a century.
Renewable
sources like Solar power, Hydro power and Wind power can offset our dependence
on fossil fuels but they come with their own set of drawbacks.
The report
found that from 2013 to 2014, Renewable energy production increased by 2.6 percent.
If we were to boost that to 5 percent per year by 2022, net emissions would
peak.
We'd
still need to create new technologies to remove Carbon from the atmosphere to
avoid the global average temperature increase by two and a half degrees Celsius.
Other
technologies might help us shed fossil fuels but they're problematic too. Nuclear
fission plants are improving with innovative ways to reduce waste.
But many
people feel that's not enough to justify their use. If we can find a way to
make nuclear fusion power plants sustainable that would go a long way to solving
our energy issues while simultaneous sidestepping the problem of generating nuclear
waste.
But we're
still trying to design a nuclear fusion plant that can consistently produce
more energy than it takes to operate it.
Whatever
our strategy the report states that we need to reduce our use of fossil fuels
dramatically. But that's just part one of the strategy part two has to do with
the way we use Land.
The Carbon
cycle depends upon carbon sinks which absorb carbon from the atmosphere and store
it away. Since Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, this helps reduce the greenhouse
effect.
Carbon
sinks include forests it should come as no surprise then that the report
strongly recommends we stop deforestation as much as we possibly can.
If we
don't step up our game the study reports, then we can expect carbon emissions
to increase until the end of the century.
With a global
average temperature increase of three and a half degrees Celsius. A satellite
image of the earth from 2100 would look very different from ours today with
large parts of coastal regions submerged by rising oceans and millions of
people displaced as a result.
Climate
change is not a joke and limiting it will take a huge amount of willpower and
effort.
But those
are things we humans have in abundance, we just have to commit to it and not
ignore problems because they seem too difficult to solve.
I
personally believe that we can make a positive difference. I have a question
for you guys
is this: What
do you think will be the biggest breakthrough to curtail climate change?
Thanks for reading this article.
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