A New Science For A New Climate

At first glance it's hard to imagine how thegas effect.
proliferation of human activity upon theSome even argue for the benefits of global
environment has been a major factor in climatewarming, which include for example the opening
change given that climate change alone is nothingup of new shipping lanes in the artic as the ice
new. Over two million years the earth's historyrecedes, new oil drilling opportunities and longer
has seen enormous changes. Indeed, in the lastharvest periods in Canada and Russia.
ten thousand years the warming and cooling ofIt seems climate change is inevitable and the small
the earth has been on a larger scale that whateconomic ideas such as banning coal subsidies
we see today.bear little fruit as a means of curbing the problem.
The climate is however very changeable theseMore than ever, political will must be
days. Getting the politics right has been half thedemonstrated at first to show to industry and
fight. Unfortunately, the right policy has been heldpopulations that it is even an issue. More
at bay partially by having the right knowledge ofimportantly perhaps, the will of the politicians must
what's happening to the climate. The climatebe met with achievable methods from the
changes we see today are the result of only atechnological and scientific community.
century and a half of study, peanuts inProfessor Socolow is leading the way with what
comparison the huge shifts over the earthshe calls "stabilisation wedges". On a graph of
history.climate change, the space between the trend line
The recent UN Climate Change Conferenceand the stability line is known as the "stabilisation
sought to put in place a policy to take over thetriangle'. By dividing these triangles into wedges
Kyoto protocol. At its core were some recentlyand assigning realistic goals to each wedge the
publicised results:massive problem is given a usable and effective
The warming trend on the earth's surface hassolution.
been taking place since the early part of theThe goals to assign to the wedges range from
twentieth century. The last ten years have beengreater overall efficiencies, the decarbonisation of
the warmest of that millennium.electricity, fuel displacement by low carbon
There have been rapid signs of melting the Arcticelectricity, methane management, and natural
circle. The sea ice there has fallen by around eightcarbon sinks. By further subdividing each wedge
percent over thirty years.into sub wedges, such as decarbonised electricity
The old inconsistency in the data between thebeing subdivided into nuclear power, renewable
temperature rise in the atmosphere and on theenergy, natural gas as an alternative to coal, and
planets surface seems to have levelled out. Theythe storage of carbon dioxide - these problems
appear to rise in parallel.are confounded into what everyone has been
The Scripps Institute of Oceanography inlooking for. A short list of solutions that together
California noted that the ocean has been warmingwill balance the problem.
at different depths for over 65 years. TheseIt seems the technology for all this exists. It is
results match the predictions that warming hasmerely in need of refinement. For example the
been induced more by greenhouse gases that asmanagement of carbon dioxide from the burning
a result of small changes in the suns heat output.of fossil fuels could be dealt with through further
There has been an observed and recorded linkcarbon sequestration. A couple of power plants
between the sea surface temperature and thealready employ this particular technique to good
frequency and intensity of tropical storms,effect. The carbon dioxide is extracted at the
typhoons and hurricanes.source and is injected into porous rocks deep
The existing computer models of the change inunderground to prevent it escaping into the
ocean currents, in particular in the North Atlantic,atmosphere.
are correct.Steam reformation is another technique. It is, in
There are however still some unknowns. Foressence, a pre-emptive technique that reacts the
example the solar hypothesis is now known to befuel used with water to yield hydrogen. The
a lesser contributor, the miniscule changes in thehydrogen output is burnt to create electricity.
suns heat output over its eleven year sunspotOf all the possibilities of reworking and inventing
cycle is adding to the mix. Also, the aerosoltechnologies, perhaps the best idea is the oldest
emissions from sulphurous fuel promote theidea. Replanting programmes. The idea of
formation of clouds, and as a consequence thephotosynthesis to combine carbon dioxide with
sunlight reflected from the earths surfacewater and sunlight is a relatively cheap and
increases, effectively opposing the greenhouseexponential idea and would be hugely effective.