Green Technology and Climate Change: Green Technology Articles: Eco20/20

Green Technology and Climate Change

A Brief Overview

Unfortunately, we are just beginning to realize the effects CO2(carbon dioxide) is having on our environmental balance and stability. Carbon dioxide is created naturally from various sources, and then collected by what are known as "sinks", repeating what is known as the "carbon cycle."

There are various natural sources and sinks including:

* Respiration of living organisms: Animals breathe oxygen given off by plants, while expelling carbon dioxide, consumed by plants. Plants use carbon dioxide and soil nutrients to create energy via photosynthesis, which removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores it as plant matter.

* Volcanic activity releases carbon dioxide and other chemicals from deep within earth's surface, however, due to the limited occasions in which this occurs, this source is rather small.

* The "Ocean/atmosphere exchange: Carbon dioxide is naturally absorbed by earth's oceans, and released into the atmosphere.

Under natural circumstances, the carbon dioxide released and absorbed through earth's normal processes remains relatively equal.

Factoring in "The Human Element"

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA.gov), human activities have only recently begun to interfere with earth's natural carbon dioxide processes. By "recently" we mean around the time of the Industrial Revolution of the 1700's. At around this time, humanity began crafting vast varieties of complex steel machinery and generating electricity at explosive rates. This manufacturing and power generation needed fuel, however, and fossil fuels were not only the most potent, but also the most readily available fuel at the time. Deforestation was also occurring at a much faster rate, which meant less trees and plants to absorb all the carbon dioxide being produced by manufacturing!

What is it doing?

Reportedly, the massive carbon dioxide emissions of recent history have caused a number of ill effects, including rising ocean levels, reductions in dry season rainfall, higher overall global temperatures, and in some cases, even drought. The concern is that excessive "greenhouse gases" in earth's atmosphere could be causing a global increase in temperature, popularly referred to as "global warming". Scientists continue to debate these phenomena however. Some researchers claim that earth goes through various warming and cooling cycles naturally, while others claim that our planet is in dire distress; commonly referring to the gradual melting of glaciers due to higher temperatures in the ice caps.

What can be done?

Currently, a great many nations, including the United States, China, and the United Kingdom, are working to discovery greener technologies that will hopefully slow, if not reverse, the effects of excessive carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Many countries are currently working on processes such as carbon negative concrete, more efficient waste recycling, and even a process called "carbon sequestration", an emerging process in which created carbon dioxide is stored in reservoirs before it reaches the atmosphere. Many natural processes are also being sought out, such as rapidly repopulating forests and using oceanic phytoplankton to absorb, and effectively sequester, excessive carbon dioxide.