Thursday, September 8, 2011

Switching from Coal to Natural Gas Would Do Little for Global Climate, Study Indicates

Report Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110908124505.htm

Again, a very serious and concerned big issue today: Global Warming.  In short, this topic can be summed up in a phrase: Everything is always a double-edged sword;nothing in the world is perfect. Coal, deemed as the cause of global warming, can actually also help to alleviate the problem by blocking incoming sunlight with its released particles ,though to a small extent. A better alternative, natural gas, actually turns out to be releasing methane gas, another common greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere. This is indeed a headache. This can really become a huge problem, as these two are still our major energy source. If more cleaner alternatives do not come out, with the current status quo, our problem of global warming may in fact be accelerated. A sustainable and viable alternative would be nuclear energy, as we all know. It is harnessed from the fission of nucleons in atoms which releases large amounts of nuclear energy. No greenhouse gases is also emitted in the process, and it has virtually no side-effects on the environment. Besides, unlike coal and natural gases, it is also renewable. However, if carelessly discharged into the air, its radioactivity can kill and cause cancers. Nuclear disasters like the recent Fukushima nuclear disaster, Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, all highlight the dangers of nuclear energy. This has already deterred some countries like Germany from tapping on nuclear energy widely in the future. The development of nuclear energy has somehow come to a standstill . We cannot continue like this, or our earth will perish soon enough. However, we can be said to be stuck in a deadlock. I think the only  solution to this would be to continue exploiting other alternatives of energy such as solar and wind energy etc, though insignificant and expensive they may be. They can still help to alleviate the problem more or less. Who knows one day they will be more developed and widely used across the world?  At the same time, it would be still up to man to protect his own environment to combat against global warming. Who knows, this article may just be hinting that we are doomed.....
                                      

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