As a large percentage of the CO2 emitted by us is owing to the use of fossil fuels for energy. Renewable energy, with its much lower carbon footprint, is one of the most effective tools we have in the fight against climate change. The carbon footprint of power generated from renewable energy sources is significantly lower than that for fossil […]
Early 19th century History for climate change studies began only in the early 19th century. Well, there really was no need until then! In the very beginning, investigations were more about ice ages and other natural changes in climate. It was during these investigations that the natural greenhouse effect was first identified. 1960s Starting 1960s, scientists started getting convinced about the role played […]
Energy efficiency is the smartest sustainable energy avenue.It is difficult to argue on this. Not surprisingly, energy efficiency can also significantly contribute in our fight against climate change. If I can make do with less energy to get the same job done, obviously I am emitting less CO2 for that activity! There is significangt untapped potential in energy efficiency. Under realistic […]
Many parts of the world seem to be experiencing droughts at a higher frequency. Could global warming and climate change be responsible for this? While droughts can have different causes depending on the area of the world and other natural factors, many scientists have started finding correlations between intense droughts and climate change. Some estimates even indicate that droughts may have doubled in frequency in […]
Show me something in which there’s no disagreement. There’s disagreement that men actually landed on the moon. There’s still some disagreement that the earth is round! So yes, there’s disagreement among scientists about climate change and global warming too. But let’s look at this a bit more closely. Expert consensus is a powerful thing. Ordinary folks don’t have the time or capacity […]
While a number of long-term efforts to reduce global warming are being undertaken – adopting renewable energy, energy efficiency, CO2 capture and so on – some bright chaps worldwide felt they could do something that can work within a much shorter period. They essentially asked themselves, “Hey, look, instead of these civilized but gradual efforts, why can’t we try something […]
World over, the frequency of extreme floods is on the increase. Is global warming and climate change responsible for this? Let us briefly look at the theory first: Because warmer air can hold more water, a warmer atmosphere has the potential to hold more more water molecules, and hence, when these condense, could result in higher rainfall. What this means for the […]
Sunlight of course warms the earth. But the question is, is it the reason for the increased global warming of late? The answer is: No. There has been no significant net change in the sun’s energy output from the late 1970s to the present, which is the period of the most rapid warming. If the sun had intensified its energy […]
The world keeps talking about CO2 all the time, so one can be excused for thinking that it is the only greenhouse gas. Not so. There are many other greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, though their overall contribution is significantly lesser than that of CO2 – and that indeed is why CO2 gets all the attention. Now, what are the […]
You may or may not like nuclear power, but there’s little denying that nuclear power produces pretty low life-cycle carbon emissions compared to fossil fuel sources. That is, nuclear power’s carbon footprint is quite low. Indeed, here’s some solid evidence: the speediest drop in greenhouse gas pollution on record occurred in France in the 1970s and ‘80s, when that country transitioned from […]
