Is abandoning fossil fuel usage the only way to combat global climate change? |
There is no such thing as sustainable fossil fuel use.
We have the technology to go way beyond combustion engines which have been around a while and haven't advanced much. I think with all the evidence one can see happening enviornmentally such as severe droughts and wildfires and storms that your grandma never imagined or saw in her liftime. But after long usage of fossil fuels we are starting to see the end results of age of oil. I believe the real drive to other ways to transport oneself other then having to use a fuel source when one can actually collect energy as one moves and with solar as one stands still. The technology that can be sustained is here and in development settling for oil and combustion engines in an age of great technological progress is total obsolesence. Besides the 300 mpg car isn't exactly for sale now is it they keep the mileage lower then the current technology allows which is actually at 3000 mpg. These developments in mpg don't really matter in the grand scope of things we have better technology that does zero damage to the environment in which we live why maintain damage to the planet when the facts are clear. If you have any question of whether or not one can effect ones planet just look up terraforming.
Posted by: AnonymousYes: we wouldn't be HAVING these problems if it wasn't for the major use of coal and other fossil fuels!
Looking back at to when the pioneers first arrived, they seemed to do just fine on their own: they didn't use fossil fuels; they were the first eco-users. Ever since we found fossil fuels, we used it as a "faster" and "easier" way of accomplishing tasks...And the more we've used, the more problems we've faced. I don't suggest a total halt, I suggest a gradual ease off of fossil fuels and an incorporation to more eco-friendly ways of dealing with energy spending.
Posted by: AnonymousIt is one of the ways to combat global climate change.
Global climate change is taking place for many reasons but one of the main reason being the usage of fossil fuel. So we should abandon fossil fuel and search for alternative energy resources to light up our lives rather than destructing our planet.
Posted by: CI3HateYes, because the climate problem has already grown so severe that we need to address the fossil fuel problem if we are to maximize our chance of salvaging a decent future.
No one can say what future innovation will do in rendering fossil fuel use environmentally safer, which makes it hard to speak in absolutes. But the explosion of energy use across the developing world, and the already-emerging consequences of existing (and apparently accelerating) climate changes, suggest that the responsible course of action is to invest heavily in alternatives to carbon-based energy sources. When one is facing a catastrophe with a thousand facets, a serious response requires addressing the problem at the roots. That would involve prominently addressing fossil fuel use, and not tinkering at the edges, hoping for a miracle.
Posted by: M4I4cFeIineNEWSFLASH: If all fossil fuel ceased to exist at this very moment, we would still see the effects of it 40 years from now.
That is a fact. That fact makes it very clear that every day we continue to use fossil fuels, we are destroying the environment more. The only way to halt this destruction is to stop putting fossil fuels into the atmosphere, and take as much of it out of the air as possible.
Posted by: AnonymousYes, I think that abandoning fossil fuel usage is the only way to combat global climate change, because it's effective and directly addresses the problem.
I believe that abandoning fossil fuel usage is the only way to combat global climate change. The moment that humanity abandons fossil fuel usage, we will see an immediate effect on air quality and temperature. Scientists had a good chance to measure the cooling effects and the global temperature change that was caused by the grounding of all air traffic on 9/11. As a result of the airplanes being grounded, the global temperature had cooled by a couple of degrees. We know that burning fossil fuels increases temperature and decreases air quality. To combat this effect directly, we must abandon the use of fossil fuels immediately.
Posted by: Issac McCarthySimple carbon calculation
In a relatively few short decades our civilization is undoing millions of years of natural carbon sequestration. Unless we quickly find a way to successfully re-sequester carbon artificially, pulling out CO2 from the atmosphere at least as fast as fossil fuel usage injects it, we must aim at stopping that usage. Research into, say, more advanced fracking techniques, would be time/money better spent researching non-fossil-fuel energy resources.
Posted by: AnonymousI think abandoning the use of fossil fuels is the best and most important way to combat global warming, because its use is the biggest cause.
The extraction and refinement of fossil fuels, as well as the emissions from their everyday use, are the biggest causes of global warming. If we cut down drastically, or stopped using them all together, global warming would be vastly decreased.
Posted by: darcyskaI feel that fossil fuel is the worst thing that could happen to our climate.
With all the new technology out there in the world, it would be very easy to get away from using fossil fuel. There are new ways to produce fuel such as the Canadian oil sands. With these new ways, we can stop the use of fossil fuels and move on to a cleaner way of producing fuel.
Posted by: LegalNapoleon91Yes, I support the idea of abandoning fossil fuel usage.
Dependency on fossil fuels has a direct affect on global warming as it is the major source for increased climate change. The side-effects of fossil fuel usage also has great impact on the environment. Moreover, our planet does not have unlimited resources and continuous extraction cannot be a lasting solution. Hence, I believe abandoning fossil fuels is the only way to combat global climate change.
Posted by: SaroM0vi3
we don't need to get rid of fossil fuels to get rid of global climate change.
we need fossil fuels to do every day things like driving to work or flying in a plane. what would happen if we got rid of that? it would cost billions of dollars just put wind and solar panels up, but we could help just by not wasting so much energy in our homes.
Posted by: AnonymousAbandoning fossil fuel use to stop climate change is unlikely to work and, therefore, unnecessary.
Human dependency on fossil fuel use is so great, that we will learn how to counter the climate change impact of the resulting emissions, rather than stopping the use of fossil fuels. The approaches will be in the area of efficiency, carbon sinks, and carbon sequestration. More efficient use of the fuels reduces the rate at which we need to consume them, and reduces the amount of greenhouse gases produced. Carbon sinks, such as reforestation projects, will store carbon as a solid, rather than as atmospheric carbon dioxide. Carbon sequestration, through such methods as carbon dioxide injection deep into the earth, is a long-term storage strategy. These three approaches will slow or halt the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, giving humans still more time to develop technologies, infrastructure, and lifestyles which will eventually dissipate the danger of climate change.
Posted by: LuciaLNo, it's not the only way, other things can be done, but that is the surest way.
There are other ways we can combat climate change, though none as significant as eliminating the use of fossil fuel. The use of chemicals in farming is dangerous to the atmosphere, as is the methane gas produced from livestock around the globe, both from their manure and from their flatulence. Also, methane is released from landfills when we dig, so our waste disposal can use some revising, in the form of more recycling, less garbage taken to dumps.
Posted by: PinkMychAbandoning fossil fuel usage is not the only way to combat climate change .
No, I disagree that the abandoning of fossil fuel usage is the only way to combat global climate change. I agree that the abandoning of fossil fuel usage is the one of the way to combat climate change. There are other factors which causes global climate change. So abandoning of fossil fuel usage is not the only way to combat global climate change.
Posted by: I0rFashionI disagree that abandoning fossil fuel usage is the only way to stop global warming because there are many other things that we can do.
Abandoning fossil fuel usage is not the only way that we can stop global warming. One way that we can help combat global warming is to stop eating so much meat. With an unnatural excess of farm animals, especially cattle, we are damaging our ozone. How do cattle damage the ozone? Animals release methane gas as part of their natural digestive processes. An excess amount of methane gas is contributing to global warming.
Posted by: emilywittenAbandoning fossil fuel usage is NOT the only way to combat global climate change. The amount of pollution in general needs to decrease before any changes are made.
In addition to giving up on fossil fuels in an effort to slow climate change, we can also reduce our use of paper products and building supplies and limit the destruction of forests by slowing/stopping the expansion of cities. Limiting the creation of plastic products which are mot generally biodegradable will also help, as will smart farming-as the mass amounts of crops necessary to feed the world is badly damaging the environment due to the size of land used as well as the amounts of fertilizer that must be produced and used to grow the crops.
Posted by: SingChancEven if fossil fuel usage is the only cause of climate change, there are plenty of other options.
Fossil fuel usage is considered a major cause of global climate change. It is not necessarily the only cause, though. There are other possibilities, such as solar activity and natural planetary cycles. Abandoning fossil fuels would only affect the portion of climate change that results from their use. They wouldn't affect the portions caused by other events. Those would require alternative options. These alternative options would also work to combat the effects from fossil fuel usage, making the alternatives a more efficient use of resources and effort.
Posted by: KnownEvanI don't think abandoning fossil fuel usage is the ONLY way to reduce global climate change because there are many other ways to do so like reducing CFC emission.
Using fossil fuel is one of the major causes of global climate change or global warming. But deforestation, use of CFC chemicals and other form of water and air pollution are also causing global climate change. In order to fight this problem effectively we must stop all of this ASAP and not only using fossil fuel, though it would be the largest step.
Posted by: SocialGalvFossil fuel use irrelevant to current climatic cycles.
Human fossil fuel use results in a completely negligible shift in global carbon dioxide levels, therefore abandoning fossil fuels will do nothing to change the climate. All climate change is natural and cyclic, related to solar and oceanic cycles, not manmade activities.
Posted by: JrRepublicanIt's natural anyway.
The only proof that humans cause global warming exists in clinate models. These machines have failed to replicate or predict temperture when CO2 is the assumed cause. They are so unreliable there is no case for man made warming. And this is why we need to look at past trends. Is ours any different? No, that's why geologists are the coubter consensus. If anything, they are MORE qualified. The current warming has come right on schedule. Cutting emissions would have no effect and would cost (example) 15% of Canada's GDP... So it's impractical and would have no effect.
Posted by: 16kadamsWhile reducing fossil fuel emissions is a key part of combating global climate change, there are other methods that should be explored.
Fossil fuel emissions are one of the largest polluters in the world and, accordingly, contribute a great deal to global climate change. However, focusing only on fossil fuels is a mistake. For instance, trees form a critical part of the carbon cycle. The deforestation in South America is also a key contributor to global climate change, and should be addressed.
Posted by: BustlingShannon45Abandoning fossil fuel usage is only a part of what needs to be done to combat climate change, as there are many other factors involved.
For instance, in addition to increasing pollution exponentially over the last 150 years, we have also depleted much of earth's natural defenses that prevent an over-accumulation of CO2 in our forests, by creating cities that increase the greenhouse effect and slowly cutting down rainforests. These actions must end as well. And steps need to be taken to increase green growth, including the rehabilitation of cities with green roofs, and staying away from areas that provide immense amounts of ecological protection.
Posted by: daveyxh