Global warming, caused by the release of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, could accelerate and cause adverse effects such as rising sea levels and intense hurricanes. Strategies to slow it down include energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, and more exotic methods like releasing sulfur aerosols. The cost of these strategies could be high, but worth it if dire predictions come true.
Since the 1960s, scientists have observed a gradual increase in global temperature. This is believed to be caused by the mass release of a greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, produced by the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas). If no strategies are found to slow global warming, some scientists believe it could accelerate at a breakneck pace, melting ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland, causing sea levels to rise by 18-59 cm (7.08-23.22 in). by 2100 Other adverse effects, including more intense hurricanes, are thought to result from man-made global warming.
A number of strategies have been proposed to slow global warming. These include quotas on fossil fuel production, energy efficiency and conservation, alternative energy sources, using fossil fuels that produce fewer greenhouse gases (natural gas), carbon capture and storage (from power plant tailpipes), sequestration of carbon (from the atmosphere itself), awnings, social controls, international treaties, lawsuits and personal choices.
The most popular strategies for slowing global warming appear to be a combination of energy efficiency/conservation, or “going green,” and the development of alternative energy sources, such as nuclear, wind, hydro and solar. Billions of dollars have been invested in alternative energies expressly for the purpose of slowing global warming. However, fossil fuels still remain the primary energy source for electricity generation worldwide.
There are more exotic methods that have been proposed to slow global warming. Paul J. Crutzen, a Dutch Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist, has proposed releasing sulfur aerosols into the upper atmosphere to reduce the solar flux incident on Earth by a few percent, reversing the effects of greenhouse gases. Similarly, plans have been proposed to increase the density of the low-level cloud layer by creating a Saturn-like ring of small particles around the Earth and placing a thin wire mesh between the Earth and the Sun. Most of these proposed strategies would cost between $10 and $100 billion US dollars. That’s a steep price, but it could be worth paying if climate scientists’ most dire predictions turn out to be true.
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