[Climate change] Your choice : Blue pill or Red pill?

  “You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes” (The Matrix). This quote comes from Morpheus who was one of the main protagonists in the Matrix, well known Hollywood movie directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski, gave us a creative perspective to the world. That is true. We, human being, are on the verge of a choice between enjoying the materialistic party with fossil fuels and saving the planet by reducing the usage of fossil fuels. The fossil fuels, the symbol of marvelous affluence since the industrialization, has enriched the human life with modern conveniences such as motor vehicles, plastics made by petroleum, electricity, and clothes. However, a majority of scientists suspect that the excessive usage of fossil fuels may cause global warming, the average rising temperature on the globe. But the usage of fossil fuels becomes so pervasive, reduction of the usage of fossil fuels is one of the challenging tasks.  Albeit the skeptical view on man-made global warming, many scientists have reached an agreement on the global warming. In the movie, The Matrix, Neo, who gets the question from Morpheus, choose the red pill to face the bleak real world and to fight against it. In reality, what are you going to choose? Do you want to stay in Wonderland made by fossil fuels exacerbating global warming or to face the reality and fight like Neo? All responsibilities are up to us and we cannot get back. Remember! Our choice will decide the future of your grandchildren. In other words, global warming, attributed to human being, can harm the ecosystem, human species if we do not reduce the emission of greenhouse gases derived from fossil fuels. The choice to save the world is at your hand.

Global warming has caused a wide variety of problems on earth. It seems obvious that the climate system per se has been changing. IPCC, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released a synthesis report on climate change in 2007. In the report, IPCC assessed that the temperature on earth has risen a difference of 0.74 °C from 1906 to 2005 (IPCC).  The change of climate can destroy homeostasis of an ecosystem. It causes the distortion of precipitation on earth; more precipitation on tropical regions whereas less precipitation on dry area such as desert or inland area. Satellite data since 1978 show that the annual average Arctic sea ice extent has shrunk by 2.7 % per decade, with larger decreases in summer of 7.4 % per decade (IPCC). You would want to believe that these problems are just for the nature, not for human. However, these problems on ecosystem will eventually turn out to be human being’s plight. Lester Brown,  a proactive environmentalist, also discussed the problem that can be caused by global warming in his book, World on the Edge. The rising sea level, caused by melting glacier and global warming, result in the loss of land area Based on the research of Lester Brown and his team, New York, Washington, Shanghai, Kolkata, and Cairo which are the city on coast side, would be seriously effected on the rising sea level (Brown). He estimated that within 50 years, the refugees from the rising sea level in China would exceed 140 million. Thus, global warming gives widespread damages to nature and human life.

Figure 1. Global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in 2004 (IPCC) (a) Global annual emissions of anthropogenic greenhouse gases(GHG) from 1970 to 2004. (b)Share of different anthropogenic GHGs in total emissions in 2004. (c) Share of different sectors in total anthropogenic GHG emissions in 2004

The cause of global warming is considered to the rising level of the greenhouse gases, mostly emitted by human being. Even if there are uncertainties, many of scientists highly suspect that the rising atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases would be the main source of the abnormal rising temperature. Thanks to the achievements of great scientists in history, the greenhouse effect, a certain gases called the greenhouse gases can absorb the infrared radiation in the atmosphere, is well understood right now. Thus, it is obvious that the rising level of the greenhouse gases would cause global warming. Moreover, in their fourth synthesis report, IPCC revealed the total emissions of the greenhouse gases. According to this report, from 1970 to 2004, carbon dioxide accounted for 77% of total anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Comparing to previous decades, the carbon dioxide takes huge part of greenhouse gases emission. Based on the carbon dioxide equivalent emission value, 10-year period of 1995-2004 (0.92Gt carbon dioxide equivalent emission per year) is higher than during the previous period of 1970-1994 (0.43 Gt carbon dioxide equivalent per year) (IPCC). Above all, most of carbon dioxide emission caused by fossil fuel use(56.6%), deforestation, decay of biomass(17.3%), and methane emission from livestock or others (14.3%). These are anthropogenic factors for emission greenhouse gases which take a huge part. Therefore, the greenhouse gases emission mostly arises from human activities such as to sustain rapid urbanization, causing more frequent transportation by cars, airplane which use fossil fuels.

            
 To forbid the globe from global warming, we need to cut the greenhouse gases emission right now. Even if the task is unprecedented and challenging, there are plenty of options that we can choose right now. First of all, businessman can get a wide variety of idea to cut the emission of carbon dioxide and save our planet from the wisdom of nature. Gunter Pauli, published “Blue economy” in 2010. In the book, he suggested 100 business ideas to reduce the energy usage and make the business environment friendly. For instance, he proposed the solution to reduce the carbon dioxide as green algae, which use carbon dioxide for photosynthesis to produce oxygen (Pauli). Since these algae contains a plenty of chemical potential energy, they can be used to produce algae oil which can be utilized to the algae fuel of cars, airplanes, or any other industrial instruments run by petroleum. For the businessman, they can get a lot of ideas to cut the emission of the greenhouse gases. For customers, they can support those companies which is environmental friendly. Whenever you go to gas station, just check whether the station provides bio algae fuel.  Moreover, electronic system controlled by solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, wind power and other renewable energy sources could contribute to cut the emission of carbon dioxide. You could think these alternatives are too expensive to use. However, actually it can be cheaper than existing solutions. For instance, United States federal government gives the tax credit for new plug-in electric vehicles up to $7,500. Taken into account fuel saving by hybrid cars, it can be a cheaper choice compared to use normal gasoline cars. The standard, two-wheel-drive 2011 model's combined highway and city estimated fuel usage is 21 miles per gallon. The same model with a hybrid engine has an estimated combined gas mileage of 30 miles per gallon (Rose). Therefore, the choice to cut the emission of greenhouse gases could be best choice not only for noble purpose to save our planet from global warming but for your purse.

Our generation should choose the future of the earth. If you choose blue pill, you do not need to change your lifestyle. You can drop by gas station to recharge gas for your car. Then you can emit one pound of carbon dioxide every one mile that you drive. However, if you decide to change right now and choose red pill, it can be painful for a moment. Once you deeply understand what is going on earth, how the global warming is serious on our life, the moment with pain would pass by. Eventually, you will realize that the alternatives to cut the emission of carbon dioxide can be beneficial for your banking account too. Moreover, if you decide to face the reality by choosing red pill, you would not make your grandchildren blame to you. Instead of that, your grandchildren would be proud of you and remember your generation as the savior of earth by dramatically changing the mode of life to save the earth from global warming. The choice is up to you. But I really wish you to choose red pill for all of us. Not just us, but our future generation too.

Climate crisis debate

Is the man-made global warming true? 

After Al Gore's amazing talk for man-made climate change induced by excessive emission of the greenhouse gases, the topic becomes popular among the public too.

However, the climate change issue entails a lot of professional scientific understandings. Based on the scientific research, there are still a group of scientists who disagree with the anthropogenic climate change. This side of scientists agree with the global warming per se. They just disagree and suggest a wide range of scientific evidence that global warming can be caused by natural factors such as sun activity and ocean cycle.  As a college student, I wondered which sides are saying truth and want to decide my actions to keep human being from catastrophic consequences. 

To be honest, it was tough topic as drilling down. Despite all of uncertainty, I may say that human has contributed a large part of anomalies of global warming.