Posted on June 26, 2007 in Latest News
Since global warming has such life-altering consequences for mankind, it is imperative to take stock and to take steps to curb global warming.
Burning of fossil fuels is the single most important source of carbon dioxide that pollutes the environment. The US is the largest producer of carbon dioxide by virtue of being the most industrialized nation in the world. The approach to curb global warming involves reducing pollutants in the atmosphere and by adapting cleaner and fuel-efficient technologies that use renewable sources of energy and do not pollute the environment. The purpose of any program to stop global warming must include creation of awareness among citizens to adapt environment friendly lifestyles and a coalition among governments of the world to save our planet.
Steps to stop global warming
- Reactive steps to face the effects of global warming include construction of barriers to protect coastal cities against rising sea levels. Governments may undertake inland evacuation of coastal populations.
- Countries like the US with sparsely populated areas can undertake conservation of flora and fauna along these corridors.
- An important step is to undertake storage of carbon dioxide away from the atmosphere, known as carbon sequestration. The best way to do this is to plant more trees and to undertake large-scale afforestation. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and utilize it in photosynthesis. Hence, the aim is to plant fast growing species that can absorb carbon dioxide at a rapid rate. Countries like Malaysia, the US and Brazil have already initiated such projects
- Another method to sequester carbon dioxide is to capture it in underground aquifers from where it cannot escape in to the atmosphere. This practice does exist in oil wells and is applicable to all power plants and factories that release carbon dioxide.
- The vast ocean floor can also act as a potential carbon sink. However, both these avenues need greater study before widespread application.
- The second method is to decrease the production of greenhouse gases by prospecting for other sources of energy like nuclear energy. Presently this is a viable source of power generation in countries like the UK and France. Other sustainable sources of energy are solar power, hydropower, hydrogen fuel cells, and wind energy that produce no greenhouse gases.
- Governments in countries like Norway tax polluting industries in a bid to curb carbon dioxide emissions. The US government promotes the use of energy efficient appliances among consumers. It encourages design of buildings using natural materials that are energy efficient and require less temperature regulation.
- Other governments practice stringent guidelines as regards use of vehicles to curb carbon dioxide emissions. They can take steps to promote recycling of paper, segregation of garbage and increased reliance on public transport.
All these tiny steps will go a long way to prevent and end global warming.
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