Technologies used to prevent climate changes

Technologies used to prevent climate changes

Technologies used to prevent climate changes


1. Background

In 1998 World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) which are organisation of United Nations have established Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which is a scientific body that researches on risks of climate changes made by human activity.

In the recent years we have heard of climate changes or global warming from TV, radio, news papers or internet. Scientist from IPCC claims that “global warming is made by human activity” some scientist believes that it is caused by natural causes. Even thou it is caused by human activity or naturally in both ways human kind are under a risk and this risk must be prevented by finding new solutions or technologies to stop it.


2. Introduction

Climate changes is a big issue that effects people’s life either by health wise, economically, or supply of foods, if it carries on existing in a high level it may wipe out human kind by its effects. It may not be problem for us now, but it will be problem for our children, and their children’s children. We got to take our responsibilities and create or use technologies that can prevent these climate effects.


3. Technologies
Technologies that can be used to prevent climate changes are as follows from the recent research:

- Cars can use hydrogen energy, hybrid energy or gas.
- TV with no standby mode or smart TV system that automatically turn-off it self if it does
not sense (using censors) anyone in the room after a certain time e.g. 30 minutes
- Computers that relies on less electricity power and automatically turn-off it self if it does
not sense (using censors) anyone in the room after a certain time e.g. 30 minutes
- Light bulbs that are co2 friendly which uses less electric consumption.
- Carbon capture and storage under sea bed to keep them out of the atmosphere.
- Factories can filter their carbon emission.


4.What can industry do to stop climate changes?

In industrial level business can stop their co2 pollution from factories by filtering carbon from their chimney;
Make new products that can have less co2 such example is making new cars that can have new technologies that pollutes less co2 to the atmosphere. When transporting products business can use transportation methods that will minimize the effects of their carbon foot prints to minimum.

Farmers can grow organic foods and prevent using products that damages their land and atmosphere.


5.What public can do to prevent climate changes?

Everyone can do something to stop climate changes, what can you do stop climate
changes.


- Change old classic light bulbs with low voltage co2 friendly bulbs
- Use recycle paper specially for printer papers.
- Use less electric, petrol
- Turn off electrical devices when not used, such as T.V, computers
- Try to use your car less and rely on public transport, bicycle or walk.
- Change your car air filter or inflate tires
- Plant trees



6. What government can do?

Government is the main source of information to inform the public without its effect people would not take action. Government can do the following few things to prevent climate changes:
- Inform public about what are climate changes and its effect for us and our future.
- Support organisation that researches on technologies to prevent less co2.
- Support people that cannot prevent co2, such as provide them cheaper or free co2
friendly light bulbs or advice.


7.Conclusion

Climate changes can be prevented if people are informed and aware of the technologies that can stop co2 from the atmosphere of the earth. Neither humans nor nature is responsible for the climate changes; it’s those people that controls us, who are our leaders, politicians, education authorities, economists are responsible for climate changes, their thoughts, laws, rules are our end result.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technic

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an approach to mitigating global warming by capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from large point sources such as fossil fuel power plants and subsequently storing it instead of releasing it into the atmosphere. Technology for large scale capture of CO2 is already commercially available and fairly well developed. Although CO2 has been injected into geological formations for various purposes, the long term storage of CO2 is a relatively untried concept and as yet (2007) no large scale power plant operates with a full carbon capture and storage system.

CCS applied to a modern conventional power plant could reduce CO2 emissions to the atmosphere by approximately 80-90% compared to a plant without CCS. Capturing and compressing CO2 requires much energy and would increase the fuel needs of a plant with CCS by about 10-40%. These and other system costs are estimated to increase the cost of energy from a new power plant with CCS by 30-60%. These estimates apply to purpose-built plants near a storage location: applying the technology to preexisting plants or plants far from a storage location will be more expensive.

Storage of the CO2 is envisaged either in deep geological formations, deep oceans, or in the form of mineral carbonates. In the case of deep ocean storage, there is a risk of greatly increasing the problem of ocean acidification, a problem that also stems from the excess of carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere and oceans. Geological formations are currently considered the most promising sequestration sites, and these are estimated to have a storage capacity of at least 2000 Gt CO2 (currently, 30 Gt per year of CO2 is emitted due to human activities[1]). IPCC estimates that the economic potential of CCS could be between 10% and 55% of the total carbon mitigation effort until year 2100.

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_capture_and_storage

EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING

WEATHER

-Winter and summer temperatures will increase and hence the weather will be warmer
-in other parts of the world, the effects will be different since some places will become drier and others will be wetter
-many storms, floods and droughts may occur but we do not know which areas of the world will be affected
-these weather changes will affect the kind of crop that can be grown
plants, animals and even people may find it difficult to survive in different conditions

SEA LEVELS

-Higher temperatures will make waters of seas and oceans expand
-ice melting in Antarctic and Greenland will flow into the sea
-sea levels may rise perhaps as much as 20 to 40 cm by the beginning of the next century
-higher sea levels will threaten low lying costal areas of the world, millions of people and areas of land will be at danger of flooding
-many people will have to leave their homes & large areas of farmland will be ruined due to floods

FARMING

-changes in weather will affect types of crop grown in different parts of the world
-Wheat & rice grow better in higher temperatures, but other plants such as maize & sugarcane do not
-changes in amount of rainfall will also affect how many plants grow
-effect of a change in the weather on plant growth may lead to some countries not having enough food
-brazil, parts of Africa, south-east asia & china will be affected & many people could suffer from hunger

WATER

-there is a big demand for water and in many regions such as: sahara in Africa, there is not enough water for people
-changes in weather bring more rain in some countries but others will have less rain
in Britain , south-east will be at risk from drought

PLANTS & ANIMALS

-weather and temperature changes, homes of plants and animals will be affected all over the world
-polar bears, seals will find new land for hunting and living if ice in the artic melts
-many animals and plants may not be able to cope with such changes and could die
-this could lead to less of some animal and plant species in certain areas of the world or everywhere on earth

PEOPLE

-climate changes will affect everyone but some populations will be at greater risk
-countries whose costal regions have a large population such as Egypt and china may see whole populations move inland to avoid flood risk areas
-effects on people will depend on how well we can adapt to changes & how much we can do to reduce climate change in the world

CLIMATE CHANGE INEVITABLE

This was the view expressed by Professor James Lovelock at the Royal Society on 29th October. The world, he said, is now so close to the tipping point that it is very likely too late for us to prevent a marked increase in global temperatures. This will result in even more catastrophic storms, devastation to ecosystems as species die out, and eventually areas of Earth becoming effectively uninhabitable.
The problem, he said, lies in positive feedback. This means that, as the world warms up, the changes that result accelerate the warming process. Of most concern at the moment is the melting of the polar ice cap, which is now disappearing at an unprecedented rate. As the ice melts, it is replaced by vast areas of open water, which absorb the sunlight which the ice used to reflect back into space. Before long, he warned, the solar heating resulting from this will be greater than anything that we can offset by reduction of carbon emissions. At that point, the cycle will have been triggered for an unstoppable temperature rise, with a new equilibrium being perhaps twenty or thirty degrees higher than at present.
This, he said, may now be inescapable. As we stop using fossil fuels, our carbon emissions drop, and so eventually will the heating from the greenhouse effect. Unfortunately, this can take ten to twenty years to take place. In the shorter term, we lose the limited shielding effect that the smoke provides, leading to a rise of two or three degrees centigrade. We are now so close to the tipping point that this may be enough to send us over.
The only remaining hope, said Professor Lovelock, was that an ecological disaster would wake us up to the emergency facing us. When asked what he thought would do the job, given the disasters that we have already seen, he showed a ready grasp of human motivation: “It needs to hit us in the wallet”, he said.

Technology used to monitor climate.

Data Acquisition System Aids Climate Change Research

Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and temperature are rising. Periods of low water availability are expected to increase in Mediterranean and other ecosystems. Researchers in Spain are simulating predicted increases in CO2 and temperature and investigating the effects on crops. To monitor and control environmental conditions they use a Microlink 751 data acquisition unit which they connect to their PC's USB port.

The plug-and-play Microlink comes with the Windmill ready-to-run software suite for Windows, which makes the device very easy to use. Each Microlink 751 can capture data from 16 sensors and probes of various types. It can also control digital switches and thus be used to open and close solenoid valves when conditions dictate.

Reference: http://www.microlink.co.uk/climate.html

Groupwork update.

A groupwork subject has been chosen - note the change of title on the blog. The groupwork will be in the form of a printed newsletter, but we'll use the the blog to collect articles. editorial meeting in/after class on Tuesday to discuss research areas etc.

Carbon Negative Fuel Developed

Via Boing Boing, Jer Faludi of Worldchanging reports on terra preta - a potentially carbon negative fuel.

Biomass, such as food waste, or tree bark from wood mills, is gasified - it is heated until it breaks down into gas and charcoal. The gas is used as a fuel, and the charcoal is ploughed back into the ground, massively enriching it and locking up the carbon.

Over the course of its normal cycle, the combination of terra preta and fuel gas actually removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, because of the carbon being ploughed into the ground.

Click here for more details.