| Published in : Article Written by Arantxa Txintxurreta on 2008-09-15 08:43 |
There’s been a tsunami, has there? It’s because of climate change. It’s been hot all week, has it? It’s because of climate change. Your umbrella has broken, has it? It’s because of climate change. It’s as if climate change were responsible for all the bad things that have been happening to us recently. Or global warming could be responsible. Or the greenhouse effect. It makes no difference: if we don’t want to mess things up too much, something has to be done, anything to solve the problem. A-ny-thing.
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HOT DEFINITIONS
About a third of the radiation that reaches the Earth from the sun is reflected back by the Earth and goes back into space. The rest is absorbed by the atmosphere, the oceans, the ice, the soil and the inhabitants. There is a delicate balance between the energy that enters and the energy that leaves, and any factor capable of changing that two-way movement of radiation can change the climate.
Climate Change: kliman gertatzen den aldaketa da. is the change taking place in the climate. It can happen of its own accord, and the glaciations that have taken place throughout the history of the earth are an example of this. And it seems that human activity can also cause the climate to change, for example, when many gases that intensify the greenhouse effect are emitted, or when forests are turned into pasture.
Global Warming: this is the warming up of the air on planet earth. According to the data, the air temperature has increased by 0.7°C since measurements began to be taken. The warming up of the atmosphere leads to storms and droughts. But tsunamis are a consequence of earthquakes, not the warming up of the air!
Greenhouse Effect: many gases —for example, carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour and nitrogen oxide— do not allow some of the energy that comes from the sun to escape. So the air on the earth warms up. After industrialisation and owing to human activity, the concentration of gases that cause the greenhouse effect has increased, and these gases are being held responsible for global warming.
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For example, we could spread protective cream all over the ice on the north and south poles; that way, we could stop the ice melting so much because of the heat. And that way the sea level would not rise and… whew! I’ll still be in time to get to know Venice.
It’s no joke; the Swiss company Landolt has developed a product to stop ice melting, and it’s already been tried it out on the Andermatt glacier in Switzerland. It isn’t a cream but a cover. Underneath it’s made of polypropylene, which prevents the heat from passing through. On top it’s white just like the snow; that part is made of polyester and reflects ultraviolet rays. The cover stops the ice from melting and that way skiers have the chance to enjoy the glacier pistes in summer, too.
Others have gone deeper into the problem. There’s too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, is there? Well, let’s get rid of some of it. How? By putting iron in the sea. That’s exactly what the Californian company Planktos has done. Iron causes the algae to increase, and algae absorb carbon dioxide. As a result, the amount of carbon dioxide in the air falls. According to the calculations of this company, with every ton of iron dropped into the sea it will be possible to extract 100,000 tons of carbon.
But... these projects do have a downside. It has been shown that the covers invented to stop the glaciers melting do in fact work. But it is impossible to cover all the glaciers with it plus the Arctic and the Antarctic. Apart from that, environmentalists close to these glaciers have complained that the initiative is not designed to reduce the effect of climate change, but to favour the ski resort. Environmentalists believe the aim is to attract skiers, who travel there in their cars and consume energy… And all that is not going to help the glacier at all, of course.
Many scientists suspect that growing algae in the sea could also have a “but”. They don’t believe that it would be as effective as the company says; besides, some are sure it won’t solve anything. And apart from that they think it could have side effects. In the end, the UN has forbidden the Planktos company and all those involved from putting iron in the sea, just in case.
Despite all, well-meaning utopian scientists refuse to give up and go on presenting radical proposals for fighting climate change. Difficulties would arise in the carrying out of most of the ideas, or else the ideas themselves would be virtually impossible. Those that are not stopped by technology are stopped by economic considerations.
On the other hand, the concern of many is that if people find out that such advances are possible, they won’t worry about the greenhouse effect any more, and consequently will do nothing to stop emitting the gases that cause it. And that, in fact, is the only thing that can realistically be done: to reduce emissions as much as possible. How? To use private transport instead of private cars, or even better than that, to cycle or walk. And by consuming products close to home rather than from far away. By using paper sensibly… Does that sound familiar to you?
Admittedly, these measures would not stop the warming, but would just slow it down. So during the time we gain through this slowing down, if you have a more radical idea, NASA can provide you with funds, because it has a programme for the purpose. But if you think you have a mad idea for reducing the carbon dioxide in the air, you could take part in the competition organised by the millionaire Richard Branson and you could win 25 million dollars!
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BET YOU CAN’T GUESS
My neighbour is a fire fighter. Tall, muscular, bright, daring… and sometimes comes up with mad ideas . Her name is Garbiñe.
See if you can guess which of these ideas for tackling climate change are Garbiñe’s, and which are the ones of top scientists.
Using technology from outer space
This could be one of Garbiñe’s ideas, but it was the former Canadian Defence Minister Paul Hellyer who came up with it. He believes that the latest technology for obtaining energy exists in spacecraft in outer space, and believing that the governments of the world are keeping such spacecraft hidden, he has asked them if they would be so kind as to reveal these spacecraft.
Building a supermega volcano
Sulphur is released into the atmosphere during volcanic eruptions, and that causes the Earth to cool down. Taking that as the basis, Tim Flannery, the most famous Australian expert on global warming, has proposed that sulphur be grafted into the stratosphere. The only thing Garbiñe can see in volcanoes is fire; how on earth could she have thought up something like that?
Cultivating plants with shiny leaves
According to experts at the University of California, such plants could bring down the temperature of the atmosphere because they reflect rays. Besides, genetically modified species could be used, because they reflect 5% more. Garbiñe would not have thought of this because she’s afraid of GM plants.
Covering the Earth with a giant CD
Imagine a thin, light CD half a metre in diameter. The idea is to use 16,000 billion of these discs to make a cover that would deflect light. Whose idea is it? Not Garbiñe’s but one that Roger Angel of the University of Arizona came up with.
Producing salty ice
The Arctic ice is melting and that is affecting the climate, because it is changing the water currents of the oceans (they help to regulate the climate). What can be done to stop this happening? Peter Flynn, an engineer at the University of Alberta, has an idea: to deposit salt water in the air in winter in the Arctic; that way salty ice could be produced. When the spring warmth melts the ice, the salt water would mix with the sea water. That way it would not affect the climate so much.
Making the Earth’s orbit larger
This person has come up with the idea of moving the earth further away from the sun by getting all the world’s nuclear weapons and using them in a controlled way. It would not only cool down the Earth, it would get rid of all the weapons. Whose idea was it? Garbiñe’s!
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SURVEY
I became a pollster and decided to approach people. Here is a summary of the responses I got to the question:
IS CLIMATE CHANGE GOING TO CAUSE THE EARTH TO DISAPPEAR?
 Julen, aged 16, student;
I think he fancies Ainhoa:
"Don’t ask me. It wasn’t me.". 
Ainhoa and Iñigo, aged 20 and 23 respectively, students and friends;
Ainhoa doesn’t want to have anything to do with Borja, because she likes Maider:
“I don’t know, but I’ve often talked to Maider about it;
I think we need to do something”.
Iñigo: “I agree, if not, all living things are going to disappear.”.
 Miren, lives in Andorra, aged 40:
“no, perque la Terra se adaptarie;
als que si afectarie serie al esser humá”
Ana, watherwoman, aged 36:
"Debemos conocer los datos, las investigaciones y las diferentes corrientes de opinión,
debemos concienciarnos en aportar cada uno lo que buenamente pueda y entre todos cuidar nuestro planeta,
 sin caer en los mensajes negativos que no ofrecen soluciones".
Xanti, fisherman, aged 65:
"Batek daki, baina urtetik urtera arrain gutxiago dago,
eta hori ez da seinale ona".
Pako, farmer, aged 63:
"Orain neguak garai batean baino epelagoak dira,
eta ez du lehen adina euri egiten.
 Horrela jarraituz gero, Lurra desagertu, ez dut uste desagertuko denik,
baina beharbada bai guk ezagutzen dugun mundua"
Maider, friend, aged 16, due to be 17 in December:
“Bo, don’t you start like Maider,
boring everyone with climate change and all that”.
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