This is probably the most talked about scientific problem we face – the science is complicated and the politics even worse. Is climate change occurring?   

Greenhouse Effect – sunlight consists of different colours or wavelengths of light.   Gases like Oxygen, and Nitrogen which are the main constituents of our atmosphere do not absorb sunlight.   Traces of water vapour, CO2 (carbon dioxide) and Methane strongly absorb specific wavelengths of sunlight – and this results in warming of the earth similar to the effect of a greenhouse.   

Evidence of an increase in CO2 over the last 100,000 years is clear cut.   Claims of global warming started 20 years ago when evidence was lacking.   Today there is much more evidence but it is a long way short of “scientific proof”.   Unfortunately by the time the proof arrives it may be too late, what do we do in the meantime?   

Most of us would hardly notice the early environmental effects of global warming – loss of coral, loss of mountain glaciers, minor increase in sea level etc.    However poor people in other countries such as Bangladesh might lose their houses and land as well as their crops.

WE can cope with global warming but the world’s poor can’t.  

If we really want to reduce global warming we have to develop clean coal technology because China, USA and the rest of the world are going to burn so much coal in future years that this will swamp the effect of all renewable energy campaigns such as Energy for Eternity.     

Clean Coal Technology or geosequestration, refers to the capture of CO2 from coal fired power stations, then liquefying and burying it deep underground.    All of the components of this process are known but there is no existing commercial operation because it is always cheaper to simply dump the CO2 into the atmosphere.    Many environmentalists are opposed to the idea of Clean Coal.   

In our next article we will look in greater detail at Clean Coal Technology – its potential and problems.