Article title: A Plan To Keep Carbon In Check
Keypoints:
- world's coal, oil and natural gas industries dig up and pump about seven billion tons of carbon a year, and society burns almost all of it, which releases CO2
- As societies get richer, the services sector-education, health, leisure, banking and so on-grows on importance relative to energy-intensive activities, such as steel production. This shift lowers the carbon intensity of an economy
- Deeply ingrained in the patterns of technology evolution is the substitution of cleverness for energy
- Today's inefficient energy system can be replaced if the world gives unprecedented attention to energy efficiency
- Holding carbon dioxide emissions constant for 50 years, without choking off economic growth, is within our grasp
- The current pace of emissions growth already includes some steady reduction in carbon intensity; the goal is to reduce it even more
- Ending the era of coal-fired power plants is priority to reducing carbon emissions
- Today's high oil prices are lowering the cost of the transition to new technology
- Even in a carbon-constrained world, coal mining and coal power can stay in business, thanks to carbon capture and storage
- Solar energy is obtained from the sun, and geothermal energy is obtained by mining the heat in the earth's interior
- Oil accounted for 43% of global carbon emissions from fossil fuels in 2002, while coal accounted for 37%. The rest was from natural gas
- 39% U.S share of global carbon emissions in 2952; 23% U.S. share in 2002. The U.S. share of global emissions can be expected to continue to drop
- Coal-based synthetic fuels provide a way to reduce global demand for oil, lowering its cost and decreasing global dependence on Middle East petroleum
- CO2 capture and storage would help reduce the CO2 in the atmosphere
- To freeze emissions at the current level, if one category goes up, another must come down
- Scrubbing CO2 directly from the air, carbon storage in minerals, nuclear fusion, nuclear thermal hydrogen, and artificial photosynthesis will help out with the future
Summary:
Reducing emissions of CO2 globally is a big thing, and it can be hard to change. Today, most of our energy comes from coal and oil, which do not have good effects on the atmosphere and the environment when they are burned for usage. Ending the era of coal-fired power plants is priority to reducing carbon emissions. There are many alternative ways to get energy, including solar, wind, and geothermal. Doing this will already lower the emissions by a large amount. The other thing that can be fixed to shift from coal energy to newer alternatives is to apply low-carbon technologies to our everyday lives, for example driving a hybrid car. Carbon capture and storage will help reduce the amount of CO2 that is in the atmosphere. Methods such as scrubbing CO2 directly from the air, carbon storage in minerals, nuclear fusion, nuclear thermal hydrogen, and artificial photosynthesis will help out with the future.
My thoughts:
I believe that the sooner we start with reducing our carbon emissions, the better. Although it is expensive to switch to alternative energy, it will help us both today and for future generations. Solar energy has no emissions compared to burning coal for our energy uses, it just harnesses the energy from the sun. There are many alternative methods that we can do to get our energy instead of coal and oil. If we continue to exercise the practices we have been doing for the past century, it would only get worse for the upcoming centuries.
Reducing emissions of CO2 globally is a big thing, and it can be hard to change. Today, most of our energy comes from coal and oil, which do not have good effects on the atmosphere and the environment when they are burned for usage. Ending the era of coal-fired power plants is priority to reducing carbon emissions. There are many alternative ways to get energy, including solar, wind, and geothermal. Doing this will already lower the emissions by a large amount. The other thing that can be fixed to shift from coal energy to newer alternatives is to apply low-carbon technologies to our everyday lives, for example driving a hybrid car. Carbon capture and storage will help reduce the amount of CO2 that is in the atmosphere. Methods such as scrubbing CO2 directly from the air, carbon storage in minerals, nuclear fusion, nuclear thermal hydrogen, and artificial photosynthesis will help out with the future.
My thoughts:
I believe that the sooner we start with reducing our carbon emissions, the better. Although it is expensive to switch to alternative energy, it will help us both today and for future generations. Solar energy has no emissions compared to burning coal for our energy uses, it just harnesses the energy from the sun. There are many alternative methods that we can do to get our energy instead of coal and oil. If we continue to exercise the practices we have been doing for the past century, it would only get worse for the upcoming centuries.
So What?The methods in which we live our lifestyles can help clean the environment.
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Says Who?Robert H. Socolow &
Stepphen W. Pacala |
What If...What if the chemicals that hurt the environment never existed?
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This Reminds Me Of...This reminds me of the green rod at the beginning of the simpsons intro.
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